All that is left behind
by UnevenPatterns
Summary: Sasuke has a stressful morning, an accidental meeting (quite literally) and ends up spending his day with a boy who is the exact opposite of himself. Little does he know that it will be the first meeting of many, and that Naruto can be hard to forget. Eventual SasuNaruSasu
1. Chapter 1

This is the first chapter of what I hope will be a multichapter story. Enjoy!

* * *

He was on his way to work, sitting in his car and going through the new proposals in his mind. He had been in a meeting with one of the company's clients just a few minutes ago, and the thoughts swirled around in his head. There were so many things to take into consideration, so many details that had to be just right.

At least he had the little time alone in his car to go through it all without getting disturbed or interrupted like he would, had he been in the office. He stopped in front of red light. It was the third red light in a row and on any other day he would have cursed under his breath. God, did he hate driving in the city. Stop, drive, stop, drive, stop, stop, stop all the damn time. Luckily he had escaped the morning chaos, and at this point most of the busy office drones hurrying to work, had been replaced with elderly people, kindergartens on trips, and people walking their dogs.

Totally lost in thoughts he drove forward as the light turned green, and drove past a long line of kids holding hands. He didn't think much of them until one of them suddenly ran out on the street.

_Fuck, fuck, shit, no this is not happening._

He knew the three year old toddler didn't stand a chance against the front of his BMV. As he hit the brakes with all his might, he remembered his theoretical driving lessons. At that time he had found it ridiculous that kids on the street had been treated as if they had a suicide wish involving his car. Which means with the utmost cautiousness, as if they would purposely try to get run over. Now he couldn't really see the humor in it anymore, because it finally seemed to come true.

The moment didn't go in slow motion as it does in movies. One moment he saw the kid, the next something came flying in from the side and he felt the light bump of a body colliding with the bumper. He barely heard the loud screech of the tires or yells from people, because his heart was thumping so hard. He threw open the door and ran out to help.

Did he manage it? Had he slowed down just enough? One of the caretakers had already run to the crying child that, strangely enough, only seemed to have scraped his hands. When he looked down in front of his car he saw why. The "thing", that had come flying in from the side was actually another kid, though quite a bit older, probably in his mid-teens. He was lying face down with his hand covering his blond head. Sasuke cursed and turned the boy over on his back to access the damage.

"Ow, ouch, easy there I'm fine!" The boy hissed and scrunched his eyes together.

"Where does it hurt? Did you break anything? Open your eyes, can you see my hand?" Sasuke asked frantically. He was _not_ good at dealing with hurt people, comforting and all that was way out of _his_ comfort zone. The boy opened his eyes and looked at him with his bright blue eyes. "Told ya, I'm fine…" he muttered and tried to get up.

"No wait!" Sasuke didn't let him get further than sitting up. "How many fingers do you see here?"

"Huh? Are you kidding me?"

The look Sasuke answered with was enough to cut him silent. "Two." Sasuke changed the number of fingers and when satisfied with the answers said; "Good, now follow my finger with your eyes."

The boy did as told and almost ended up going cross eyed, when the finger came a little too close to his face.

"Okay now look up". As the boy looked up Sasuke could see his pupils react to the light and become smaller. Did this mean he hadn't gotten a concussion? Actually Sasuke didn't really know if he was doing this right, but as every other person who had watched tv, he had somewhat of an idea, of what should be done. And if there was one thing he had learned working as a leader at his office, it was that if it looked like you knew what you were doing and that you had the situation under control, most people would follow you. Most of the onlookers had calmed down, and the kindergarten kid had stopped crying. He gave the blond teen another look, and took his hand to help him up. The tanned palm was warm, dry, and just a tad bit smaller than his own.

"I'll drive you to the hospital just to make sure. Besides you need to get those cleaned up." He said and gestured to the teen's knees and elbows where the fabric of his close had torn and he had gotten some nasty abrasions. The boys eyes widened, he almost looked panicked for a moment.

"Uhh thanks, but that's really not necessary. I-I live just around the corner, and this is nothing! Easily taken care of! No problem. No. None whatsoever. And the little kid is more important anyway! " He babbled and turned around, only to see the child grinning from ear to ear with a huge lollipop barely fitting in his tiny mouth. The blond's expression fell and he looked back and forward between Sasuke and the child, then at an old plastic watch on his wrist.

"Oh see what the time is, I really have to go!" He said and turned to leave. It was only then that Sasuke noticed how he was dressed. He wasn't dirty per se, but his clothes were old and baggy. _Ah I see the problem_. He grabbed the blond's arm and pulled him towards the car.

"Look, you don't have to worry. This was my fault, and I'm just glad that you saved that kid. I'll make sure to pay for your hospital fees, so come on."

"No seriously, it's nothing! I'll be…" Sasuke gave him a stern look, one of the milder kind, but still a proper Uchiha one, which promptly shut the kid up again.

"Why don't you come with me, then I'll drive you home, to the hospital, the pharmacy or wherever you want to go. We can decide in the car. Okay?"

"O-Okay" The boy looked down in defeat and followed Sasuke to the passenger seat. Sasuke shut the door closed after him and went over to the kindergarten teachers to make sure everything was fine. He gave them his business card just in case. The drivers getting stuck behind him were getting impatient and he heard several honks.

The little accident had stopped all traffic and now that he was assured that nothing serious had happened, he needed to get moving. He went back into the car, put it in gear and then realized he didn't know where they were supposed to go. He looked over at the kid, who was sliding his hand over the inside of the door appreciatively. It probably wasn't an everyday occurrence for him to be in such a car.

Sasuke cleared his throat to get his attention."So… If not the hospital, then the pharmacy?" The boy looked him straight in the eye, then nodded.

"Sure."

Sasuke headed for the pharmacy closest to their location and watched the boy let his fingers run over the interior of his car. "I really like your car." the boy said "It's like, so fancy and shiny. Must have cost a lot" The last part was only a mumble, barely audible.

"Hn." Sasuke answered and turned his eyes to the road again. One accident was more than enough for him. "What is your name kid?"

"I'm not a kid!" he protested. "And my name is Naruto."

"Okay Naruto. I think you will need a little more than just a visit to the pharmacy."

"What?! Why? You said I could decide where I wanted to go!"

"Calm down. Look at yourself. Your clothes are pretty much ruined. I'll take you to get some new."

Naruto looked at him suspiciously, obviously not sure whether he should trust this strange man. Then he looked down at his clothes and sighed. Sasuke smirked. For some reason it felt just as good winning in the small disagreement with the boy, as it did getting a big deal though at work. How odd.

"Hey. What's your name?" Naruto asked and looked at him, again straight in the eye. It was almost a little unnerving.

"Sasuke" He didn't feel the need to mention his surname. The difference between them was big enough already. To tell the poor kid that he was rich, would have been a little cruel.

He pulled into a parking lot at a supermarket, and went into the pharmacy across from it with Naruto in tow. He let Naruto explain his injuries to the cashier and called his secretary while they found the items. He just told her that he would be late, not wanting to explain everything and then having to deal with her worry. She could be a little dramatic at times, and if he told her about the car accident she would probably get the police and an ambulance to come get him, not to mention calling his brother. Today had been plenty stressful, and getting his brother involved would be the icing on the cake.

He paid for the disinfectant, cotton pads, huge band aids and gauze, and they went back to the car.

"Sit down" he ordered and took out the stuff needed to clean the wounds.

"Yes sir." The boy replied sarcastically, and plopped down on the car seat sideways, so his legs were sticking out. Sasuke looked at him too surprised to respond. How long had it been since anyone had dared use such a tone with him? He honestly couldn't remember.

"Lift your up the legs of your pants, so I can get you cleaned up." He went down on one knee to be at the right height.

"Okay, OW! Stop! That hurts you bastard! " Naruto yelled as Sasuke tried to apply the disinfectant.

"Sit still! You almost kicked me in the head!"

"That's because it hurts! Are you trying to kill me?! I shou- OW!" Naruto tried to bat Sasuke's hands away, but to no avail. After a bit of a struggle Sasuke managed to get the wounds cleaned, but not before Naruto had cursed at him quite colorfully.

"Are you done being a baby?" Sasuke asked the now glaring Naruto, who was holding his right arm protectively to his body.

"You are a mean man." Naruto said with a pout.

Sasuke snorted in amusement. "How old are you anyway? You should be able to handle this much." He said and began putting the gauze on.

"I'm 16, a-and this is nothing! It's just you who are old and insensitive."

"Wha- I'm not old, you brat!"

"Are too!"

"Hn." He absolutely refused to take part in this childish argument. When had he decided to become this kid's babysitter anyway? Oh yeah, the guilt. He was after all the one to run him over. Damn, no way out of it.

"Jeez we must look really weird." Naruto said. "I mean look at you, are you trying to propose to me or take my pants off, or both at the same time? Perv."

Sasuke looked at him incredulously and felt his eye tick. "Hn." A non responsive answer was the only appropriate answer in this situation.

"So, all done." He said and rose, quite proud of his work. Naruto looked at the gauze now covering his knees and arm.

"Pfft. What the hell? It looks really weird. And why did you cover like my entire left arm? Haha I look like a half mummy." The blonde laughed at Sasuke. Now that Naruto mentioned it might have been a bit of an overkill to use _that_ much gauze. Not amused, he ordered the boy to get his legs in the car unless he wanted another injury added to his collection.

"Yes sir!" Naruto answered cheerily.

_Cheeky brat._

* * *

"The blue one."

"Of course, I'll bring it to him" the saleslady answered politely.

Another struggle had broken out when Sasuke had tried to get Naruto into one of the stores he usually frequented, and this time the brat had won the argument. He said Sasuke must be crazy, if he thought they would let someone like Naruto set foot in their fancy stores. So now he was caught in a run of the mill store for teenagers. Great.

Naruto came jumping out of the dressing room and exclaimed; "Tadaa! This one is great! So much more comfortable than your fancy-pancy suit." He grinned and hugged himself while twirling around, showing of a very _orange_, and definitely not blue shirt.

_Where in the world did he find that one? It's horrendous, why do they even sell something in such a tacky color? _

Naruto looked at him with stars in his eyes and said; "I love it! This is the one I want."

Sasuke shot him a disapproving glance and sighed. In the end he couldn't say no to those eyes. "Fine. This one and the pants." He said to the saleslady.

"Do you want me to put them in a bag or do you want to wear them now?"

"He'll wear them now, thank you."

When they left the store they went past a sandwich shop, and it wasn't until Sasuke was almost at the car that he noticed his smaller companion had gone missing. Looking back he saw the blond stand in front of the sandwich shop counting coins in his hands.

He walked back to Naruto and observed him trying to figure out which sandwich he wanted. He looked at his watch and decided that he might as well grab something too, it had been a long time since he had last eaten in such a cozy place. He couldn't believe that almost two hours had gone by since the accident, and that it was already time for lunch.

He went in and heard Naruto follow him, muttering something about ham and meat. As they ordered, he frowned when he heard Naruto's choice. When he looked up on the menu sign he could see that it was some vegetarian thing, only with salad and it was also the cheapest thing on the entire menu, except for the drinks. He felt a little pang inside, when he connected the dots. For a growing boy it was a sorry excuse for a meal.

"I'll pay, so pick the one you like the best." He said with a neutral voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I kinda owe you don't you think?"

"Food is no joke." He said with a disbelieving voice.

"Hn. Just choose."

They had to go back to the car since there was no available tables at the shop, and as Sasuke had predicted, Naruto had chosen something much more fitting than the tiny vegetarian sandwich. Now he was just unsure about whether he was alright with letting the brat eating in his car. A bench nearby saved him, or rather saved his car.

"Mmmf.. this is like the best food ever!"

"Chew before you talk, brat."

The insult didn't go entirely ignored. "Thank you bastard Sasuke. Maybe my new hobby should be running around in the traffic. This mmmfg.. is definitely worth it."

"There's something seriously wrong with your priorities…"

_A sandwich is worth getting run over?_ Sure he wasn't serious, but still it let Sasuke to wonder how often he got fed. He wolfed down the sandwich like a starving man. As they ate he observed Naruto out of the corner of his eye. The kid was tanned, the way you're either born with, which includes dark hair and eyes, or in his case the way you are when staying outside all the time. At a closer look he could see faint scars running across his cheeks.

_Another accident? Or... abuse?_ His shoes had gone unharmed and were much worn cheap plastic sandals. His new clothes made the contrast between his other belongings so much more obvious. It wasn't just old or baggy, even his bag was patched, and his hair wasn't just messy. It needed a good wash, of which the same could be said about his hands. The white gauze against the tanned skin made Sasuke wonder about how much of the dark color was tan and how much was dirt.

"Naruto."

"Hmm? Yeah?"

"Where do you live?"

"Uh, down the west end. You know near the accident."

_I don't believe him for a second. He is wears his feeling on his sleeve, and that was definitely panic in his eyes._

"Who do you live with?"

"M-my family of course."

_Yep he's getting nervous._

"Oh, do you have any siblings?"

"Um a…. a brother!"

"What's his name?"

He saw Naruto look across the street and followed the direction of his eyes.

"Pierre! His name's Pierre."

Sasuke looked at him with a dead-pan look. "Your brother's name's Pierre? That's a little unusual, isn't it? Especially compared to your own. And funny how there is a café right across from us called Pierre's bakery, huh. What a coincidence."

Naruto knew he had been caught in his lie and decided it was time for his exit. "You know what? You are a busy man, and I'm busy, and it's late and now I have to go. Nice to meet you. Bye."

"Tch. Not so fast." Sasuke said and grabbed his wrist. "Do you even have a place to live?"

"I just told ya, it's down at the west end-"

"Stop lying."

Naruto's mouth snapped shut and they stared at each other stubbornly.

_If I push him any further than this he is going to bolt and run._

"Sit down and finish your sandwich." He ordered. They sat in silence as both of them finished their food. Then Sasuke got up and brushed himself clean of crumbs. He took a look at Naruto, who was standing awkwardly beside him. A little blob of butter had gotten on his cheek, which annoyed the cleanly Uchiha. He pulled out a napkin from his coat pocket to dry it off.

"What are you_ doing_?!" Naruto flinched in surprise and scrunched up his eyes. "Arrg. You're treating me like a little kid again." He pulled the napkin away from Sasuke and finished the job on his own.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked. "Let's get you back to the west end shall we?"


	2. Chapter 2

Uhh yeah I don't know why, but here it is; chapter 2. I had not planned on finishing two chapters in one day, but I'm pretty happy about it. Neither of the chapters are beta'ed or anything and if word didn't catch my mistakes they'll still be there. English is my second language so any advice is welcomed. Enjoy!

* * *

It was weird. Why it was so, he couldn't exactly put his finger on. Normally Sasuke didn't care much about others. So why was the image of Naruto's back, as he ran back to wherever he came from, stuck in his mind? Of course he knew that as the upright citizen he was, he should have tried to stop the boy. He should have contacted the police to hear about run away kids or at least forced the boy to the hospital. But in his usual uncaring fashion he decided not to. Had it been any other boy it wouldn't have bothered him afterwards. Christ the kid was 16, which in his opinion was old enough to make their own decisions. He had simple driven the blond back to the west end of the town, and let him go, when they reached the scene of the accident. Afterwards he had returned to his work as if nothing had happened. A week had already gone by, and the brat should definitely have something else to do instead of haunting him. The place of the accident was quite close to his apartment and he couldn't help but watch out for a teen with blond hair, blue eyes and a cheeky grin. Not only was the spot close to his apartment, it was also on his daily route from said apartment to his office, which resulted in him constantly being reminded of the whole incident.

_He must be living on the streets. Why else would he choose to lie, avoid the hospital and look like a hobo? _

When he had gone shopping for groceries, he had chosen to go to another supermarket than his regular, just so he could pass through "the area" as he called it in his mind. He caught himself buying a sandwich from one of the coolers filled with already prepared food. He usually never bought sandwiches, or other ready-made products, when he could just as easily make it at home himself. Unless it was to bring it to work, but today was a Saturday… When he even stopped in front of the shelves with snacks and candy the peaceful obliviousness of the situation could no longer stick with him.

_What the hell am I doing? Thinking about whether he would like chocolate or jelly beans the best. This is getting ridiculous, I hate sweet._

Sasuke wasn't much for self analysis, but had to admit that it had gotten to a point where it might be a good idea. The shock of the accident was probably the reason why he suddenly felt like he had… bonded? No, no, connected, yes he had connected with the boy, bonded made it sound like some awful chick-flick. He had heard about how strong friendships and such could suddenly develop after someone met under circumstances where the adrenaline ran full force in their blood. He might behave quite coldly towards others in his daily life, but it did not equal to him being emotionless. Maybe he felt compassion with the boy , because he had also tried to be an orphan. Yes that had to be it. Certainly it was not because Naruto had made him feel like he wasn't that much different from anyone else. He had just treated him like a normal person although it had been obvious that he was loaded. Neither was it because he had finally met a person he could genuinely care for and found satisfaction in doing so. No both of these sounded like something coming from his earlier therapist. _Ughh… my therapist would have had a field day with this._

When he reached the cashier, he looked around absently while waiting for all his items to be scanned. His eyes reached the shelves next to the cashier with the condoms, cough drops, and _chocolate_. For some reason he let one of the chocolate bars make its way onto the conveyor and it settled nicely in between his other groceries. When it got scanned in together with everything else he didn't complain, he just paid for it all and left.

_The only thing I need now is a van with graffiti on it, and then I'll be the stereotype for a pedophile. Damnit._

He didn't meet Naruto again. Or well more like he didn't meet him where he expected to, and when almost two weeks had gone by, he had stopped having ridiculous inner conversations with himself about the brat. He decided to return to his usual habits and would have succeeded had he not seen a mop of blond hair in the crowd as he got out of his car the next day. He was supposed to visit one of the company's suppliers and was in a bit of a hurry, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the familiar color. Naruto was standing on the other side of the street in front of a little shop.

I should just leave him be, he seems to fine. The gauze is gone, and- Oh he's even talking to someone… Wait is that a police officer?

Without further ado he crossed the street and went straight over to the teen and grabbed his arm. Naruto jerked around with a frightened look on his face, until he recognized Sasuke.

"Naruto, where have you been? I have a meeting now so lunch will have to wait an hour or so. Hope that's okay." He still held onto his arm and played his role as concerned family member well, much to his own surprise. Naruto was gaping at him, totally lost at the strange turn of events.

"You know this young man?" the police officer asked suspiciously.

"Yes. We were just going to lunch but it seems like I'll be a little delayed for that. Why, is there some sort of problem?"

The police officer grunted in displeasure. "He has been wandering around this area alone quite often. In the school time I might add." He said with a sour voice.

"Hn. I'll make sure to discuss this with him later." Sasuke answered with the proper amount of sternness in his voice, as if he really intended to give Naruto a scolding. "Thank you for your trouble officer." Then he turned to Naruto, who finally had caught unto that he was being saved here. "At the same place as last time, okay? I'll meet you there in an hour." He looked Naruto straight in the eye as he said this and the blond head gave a slight nod in agreement. The officer left and Sasuke nodded goodbye and turned back to the building he should have gone into from the beginning. His heart was still pounding as stepped into the elevator. The whole ordeal had taken less than five minutes so he wasn't even late for his meeting. He hadn't exactly lied to the officer, but he had withheld some of truth. It was just scary how naturally it had come to him.

_What in god's name am I getting myself into?_

* * *

As he stood in front of the sandwich shop an hour later he wondered whether Naruto would actually come. It was a little far from where they had meet earlier, but it was the only place he could think of in the heat of the moment.

He had managed to get a table this time and tapped his fingers against the surface of it impatiently. He raised his eyes to look out the window and they meet with a pair of blue on the other side. Naruto broke into a huge smile and poked at the glass just in front of Sasuke's face. Sasuke waved for him to come inside, and brought a hand up to cover his smile. Naruto plopped down in the chair across from him, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Will you give me free food again?"

The brunet closed his eyes in exasperation. "Is food the only thing you care about?"

Naruto closed one eye and scratched the back of his head, as if it was a difficult question. "No?"

"Shouldn't you at least thank me, before you try to get free food out of me? Have some manners."

"Thaaank you Sasuke." He sing-songed. Then he looked at him expectantly. "Free food now?"

"Yes, yes I'll give you food. What do you want?"

"Ah! That one I got last time, with the triple ham and cheese and red pepper and salad and that really good dressing and…"

They ordered and ate in companionable silence, only interrupted by Naruto's satisfied hums and occasional praise for the food. When they finished Sasuke got some paper napkins and tried to clean Naruto's face, again to much protest from the blond. He knew it was a little childish of him to annoy Naruto, but he couldn't help it. It was almost like a game. When they at last came to a truce, Sasuke noticed something that made him frown.

"Why are you wearing your torn clothes again?"

Naruto shrugged and didn't answer.

"As far as I recall I gave you new clothes last time and even let you get that weird patterned shirt."

"Well, yeah, I know that. It's just… I mean they were brand new and, yeah I didn't want them to get all worn and ruin them." He glanced at Sasuke. "You probably don't get it do you?"

"Not really to be honest. Clothes are meant to be worn after all. What is the purpose of me giving them to you if you don't use them?"

"It's just…" Naruto grimaced. "I haven't really had such nice clothes before, you know." Now Sasuke could see what the grimace was supposed to cover; Naruto was ashamed of his poverty. "All my usual stuff are hands me down, and most of it doesn't fit very well, so I thought I would save the set you gave me for when I really need it. Like a job interview or something…" He muttered.

"Hn. There's no way you'll still be able to fit those when you get old enough for that."

"I'm old enough to work you know!"

"Yes, but when applying for a job you need an official address."

Naruto just scowled at him. "You are a mean man…"

Sasuke snorted at that statement. "Would you still say that if, let's say, I offered you lunch again next time we meet?"

Rubbing his chin and narrowing his eyes replied. "I'll change that to crafty. We have a deal Sasuke." He reached out his hand and gave the older male a firm handshake.

* * *

After their second meeting, they bumped into each other quite often. It was no longer just Sasuke who was on the lookout for the other, Naruto was surprisingly eager to meet up as well. Sasuke had strong suspicions that the food might be the crucial factor. Since he now knew what to use as bait it was easy to catch the fish cake. Sometimes he would catch sight of the blond and other times he would suddenly feel a tug at his sleeve, turn around and be presented with a bright smile. Naruto wolfed down whatever was put in front of him, and always left with a full stomach.

Sasuke enjoyed their small meetings as they gave him more than just the physical satisfaction of being full. It was like something within him got satisfied as well. Replacing his boring lunch breaks in the cafeteria in the office, with those small outings together with Naruto was one of his best ideas.

He didn't mind that they didn't always talk much, and never touched the subject of Naruto's lack of home and schooling. Naruto still had the curiosity of a child and after a handful of meetings, Sasuke had earned his trust. So the blond asked away about everything. Sasuke often wondered where the endless stream of questions came from. Then thought about how there might not have been many people in Naruto's life that had been willing to answer all those questions as he grew up.

He answered the best he could, about his work, how to drive a car, about the earth and the universe, and sometimes simple questions about the people they saw walking by on the street. At one point he had been unable to answer thoroughly and decided to bring his laptop the next time. Apparently Google was nothing new to Naruto. "They have it on the library computers" he explained one day.

"Hn, didn't think you would be the reading type."

"I'm not, but it's nice and warm on rainy days. The ladies there don't really mind me, and I like the books with pictures in them. The rest just gives me headaches."

_Picture books? For how long had Naruto been on the streets?_

At first he had thought him to be just another runaway teen, but small things like this clued him in on, that Naruto might have been alone for much longer than that.

_Has he even learned to read properly? He is 16 for crying out loud! And those scars on his cheeks are definitely not from an accident, they are almost identical on each side and perfectly straight. _

_What kind of life have you lived Naruto? _

"Oooh you have games on it! Can I play? Pretty please!"

"It's just solitaire and pre-installed games but knock yourself out."

If Sasuke could give him these little pleasures that he had been denied, he certainly would. It might be a little too late considering his age, but better late than never. Being around Naruto and his childish antics made him feel young in a way Sasuke never had before. He had been way too serious as a teenager, and the death of his parents had forced Itachi and him to grow up quickly. It was like having a friend a year younger or so in school, and he was the older one who was looked up to, and could answer all the questions about the world.

Being able to make Naruto happy made him feel … important. He returned from his breaks feeling lighter and with a bounce to his steps. Sometimes he was almost giddy, but he refused to acknowledge this, as it was inappropriate Uchiha behavior.

* * *

It was raining. Not just the light dribble you often encountered, no it was _pouring_ down. Sasuke was on his way home and listened to the emergency weather forecast telling him to get his ass home 'cause the rain was just the beginning. The air had been chilly for a while and this would just be the first in a series of autumn storms. It was like this every year. He had the wipers on full speed, but did still have difficulty seeing out the front window. The traffic was painfully slow, as everyone was being extra cautious. At his right he saw a long line of colorful small figures; it was kindergarten kids in raincoats hurrying home.

_What is Naruto going to do in this weather?_

The thought had struck him before, most often when he was lying in bed late at night and heard the wind howling outside. He always pushed the thoughts away, knowing that the boy didn't want anyone to get involved with his life. The rain turned into hail and he got an almost desperate urge to go looking for Naruto. He knew there was no way he would be in a shelter for homeless people. He was too young to be out on the streets alone, and would be taken to the social services immediately. Which left him out there in this storm, alone, cold and wet.

_Forget it. There's no way I could find him anyway, we rarely meet in the same place. I wouldn't even know where to start._

When his car finally snailed its way up to the intersection, his body won over his mind and he turned right instead of going straight ahead as he should have. He tried to look out for the blond as he slowly made his way around town, driving to every place he could remember having met him. Nothing. All the people still out on the streets were running home or closing up their shops.

_I'm an idiot. No homeless person would be out where you can see them at this point. They would have found some kind of shelter. Hmm, all shops are closing; the library is definitely closed as well. Public restrooms?_

He shuddered at the thought of spending the night in such a place. He and his brother might have been orphans, but they had always been well off. Sasuke went through all the possibilities; dark alleys, old warehouses, cardboard boxes… What was it Naruto had said about the back alley of some restaurant? It had been one of the few times he actually mentioned something about his lifestyle. Something about the owners being nice to him, even though the place was really fancy.

He set his course towards the better part of town and wracked his brain, trying to remember. At the first three places he drove to there was no back alley connected to the restaurant, or said ally was empty. At the fourth place he pulled into the small parking lot reserved for restaurant guest and turned off the engine. Annoyed with himself and the entire situation he hit the steering wheel.

During his time with Naruto he had come to see himself as a person whom Naruto could depend on. Now it was glaringly obvious how wrong he had been, and he felt like a fool. Though Naruto's crude behavior could annoy him at times and they still had small banters when Sasuke tried to do his napkin routine, deep down he wanted what was best for the brat.

He put the car in gear and was just about to pull out on the street when he noticed that what he at first glance had thought to be a small backyard to an apartment complex was actually an _alley_. An alley with a big cardboard box in it, and half an umbrella sticking out from it and covering the top.

_No way._

He stepped out and got drenched in the time it took him to open the back of his car to get his own umbrella. The rain and hail was one thing but it was the wind that was the worst and it almost tore the umbrella out of his hands. Quickly he stepped over to the cardboard house and lifted the umbrella to peek in. He had half expected some crazy hobo to scream at him in anger, but what met him was the shocked face of a blond boy with blue eyes.

"Sasuke?! Why are you here?"

"Later. Just come with me." Ha answered and pulled Naruto up. Then he saw the plastic bags hadn't just covered Naruto from the rain. Some of them had things in them and there was also the little backpack.

"Get your stuff."

"What?"

"Just get it. Come on, we're getting soaked!"

"Okay, okay! Give me a moment." Naruto tried to gather all his stuff in his arms but the black plastic bags he had used as a raincoat hampered his movement. Getting impatient, Sasuke scooped half of it into his arms and carried it back to the car. Naruto looked absolutely confused, but followed him as quickly as possible, not wanting to leave the cover of the umbrella. They shoved all the things in the trunk of the car and got in themselves.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"What are you doing? I'm pretty sure you just destroyed my _house_, so you better have a good reason for this. If you just came to have a chat I'm going to be pretty pissed off at you."

"I'm taking you to my place." He answered with a neutral voice, although he felt turmoil inside. What _was_ he indeed doing? He drove out the parking lot before Naruto could get any second thoughts.

"Okaaay… Why?"

"Because there is a storm coming."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's already here actually." Naruto said and looked out the window. Then he folded his hands and bowed his head as if in prayer.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Praying that there won't be any more kindergarten children out there who need me to save them. You're going faster than the speed limit you know. "

Sasuke felt his cheeks heat up as he got told off. He should never have thought the brat the basics of driving. In the time it had taken him finding Naruto most people had gotten home and the streets were mostly empty now. The excitement of actually finding him and the need to get home _right the fuck now_, had made him hurry. He sighed and calmed himself down. It was a little weird that Naruto didn't put up more of a fight at getting kidnapped this way. On the other hand, who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity to get inside a proper building right now?

"Where do you live Sasuke?"

"At the West end." He said and smirked.

"Haha you think you're so funny, don't you."

"It's true though, just around the corner of where _you_ used to _live_."

"Bastard."

Sasuke didn't take the insult to heart, because he could see the smile forming on Naruto's lips and couldn't help smiling a little too.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is slightly shorter than the first two, but it had to end at a natural point. I'm going on holiday now so I'm not sure about when the next chapter will be ready. Please let me know what you think of it :)

Enjoy!

* * *

All of Naruto's things were lying in a clutter on the floor in the living room. They had both taken of their shoes, but their clothes were still soaked and a wet patch started to show where Naruto stood. He had joked with Sasuke on the way to the apartment, but was now eerily silent as he took in the place.

When he had stepped into the room and seen how different they truly lived, he had frozen in his steps. Sasuke who had already been quite aware of the gap between felt a little uncomfortable about it. His apartment was quite large and the walls where all white except for the kitchen wall which had been painted a dark blue. Big windows covered the entire length of the living room and a glass door led to a balcony stretching just as far. All of his furniture was of the comfortable and expensive looking kind and large flat screen TV hung on the wall opposite of them. Sasuke felt himself cringe. He didn't want Naruto to feel out of place or inferior, but it wasn't like he could magically change his place into the average bachelor dumpster.

"You're dripping on my carpet. Come on I'll show you the bathroom so you can dry yourself off."

Naruto looked down at the carpet and shuffled away from the wet spot embarrassed. He tried to lift up the legs of his pants but to no avail. His cardboard house hadn't been able to keep him dry and the drops just kept falling from his clothes and hair. The first thing he did in the bathroom was to take off his sweatshirt and wring it over the sink. Sasuke stood in the doorway and frowned when he saw that the t-shirt underneath it was just as wet.

"I'll get your clothes."

Naruto glanced at him and said; "Don't bother the rest is wet too. I'll just take my shirt off and wait for it to dry, if that's okay."

"No way. You'll get sick like that. You can lend some of mine just wait here. "

"You're way bigger than me, it won't fit anyway and I'm fine like this." He said with a tense voice and tugged at his wet shirt. His eyes wouldn't meet Sasuke's and a faint blush showed on his cheeks.

Sasuke halted his steps and shot Naruto a cold look. "I know you don't give a shit about sizes, none of your own clothes fit either. Why won't you just accept it? It's not like you have a problem with the clothes I gave you earlier or when I pay for your lunch."

Naruto squirmed and gave him an annoyed look. "That's different."

Sasuke's stare showed him that he would have to explain further than that.

"You already brought me here. I don't want to cause you any more trouble and you kinda owed me a new set of clothes before. The lunches are… well you are eating too! So that makes it more okay. I just don't want to owe you anything or be a leech, you know. I'm not a charity case or a beggar."

"Tch. No you're just an idiot." Sasuke said and smacked him over the head. "Stay put, I don't want the rest of my place to get wet and you can consider wearing dry clothes as doing me a favor. Take a shower while you're at it, you stink."

He could hear Naruto grumbling about how he couldn't help being dirty as he went into his bedroom next to the bathroom and into his walk in closet. He found a pair of sweatpants and a blue tight fitting t-shirt on the shelf with his casual clothes. The shirt had been an impulse purchase and he had only worn it outside of his house once. He had been called into his office the same day, and his female colleagues' reaction had scared him away from ever wearing it again. He was quite fit, but most of them hadn't known since he always wore a suit to work.

Unfortunately they still hadn't forgotten about it. The t-shirt would be just right for Naruto, who was still a lanky teenager. The top of his head just reached the tip of Sasuke's nose, but he had yet to gain the muscle and shoulder width of a grown man, though Sasuke had no doubt it would happen eventually if he just kept feeding the always starving boy.

The bathroom door had been closed when he returned and he knocked on it lightly.

"Are you decent?"

"No! don't come in! I'm not wearing any- ow stupid towel thingy! Sasuke your towel holder is a bitch!"

Sasuke smirked in amusement. He could image the situation a little too well. His towel holder could be turned so it stuck to the wall or so it blocked half of the standing space in the bathroom. It had an annoying tendency to un-stick itself and get in the way of unsuspecting victims. He opened the door a little and threw in the clothes on the cabinet next to the door.

"Hey! I told you I wasn't decent! You can't just-"

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Just get dressed for Christ sake and try not to get yourself hurt while you're at it."

He heard Naruto rummage around in there doing who knows what and then;

"Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Now that I'm borrowing clothes from you anyway…"

"What is it?"

"…"

"Spit it out."

"Boxers? Please?"

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. _I'm not laughing, body don't betray me now, you've served me well so far…_

"You know briefs are okay too. Sasuke? Come on I don't wanna have a wet spot on my crotch. That would feel really gross."

Sasuke made a half strangled noise and banged his hand against the wall. _Not … laughing…_

"Are you alright out there? Sasuke?! I need underwear god damnit! What are you doing anyway?!"

* * *

As Naruto took his sweet time getting done, Sasuke started cooking dinner. He wasn't used to cooking for two; it was so rare for him to have anyone over. He wasn't exactly an expert cook either, so usually he would just order some kind of take out if someone happened to some by. The weather that had turned into a full blown storm at this point, so it ruled out that option.

He tried his luck at some kind of curry-stew thingy. It was pretty much just some meat, vegetables and a whole lot of curry thrown into a pot. He had given up on following the recipe half way through; since he discovered that he didn't even have half of the ingredients needed. Suddenly Naruto's head poked around the corner of the fridge.

"It smells good! What is it?"

"Curry." He gestured towards the cabinet with plates. "You can set the table; it will be a little while before it's done."

"Yes sir!" Naruto answered and stepped into the room as he saluted. Sasuke stopped stirring for a moment and took in the sight of a clean Naruto. His hair was much brighter and his skin a little lighter as well. The clothes though… The shirt was fine but he could barely keep up the pants and no tugging would keep them in place.

"Don't laugh it was you who gave me those pants."

Sasuke hadn't even realized that his expression had changed. He schooled his features immediately. "I'm not laughing."

"Are too, you bastard." Naruto objected and kicked him in the calf muscle.

"Hey you little! Don't bite the hand that is feeding you! Get to work."

Naruto did as told but every time he came back for things he would push Sasuke to the side and in some way insist that the food _had to be_ done by now. When Sasuke tried to taste the food Naruto's eyes followed the spoon so he tried to move it back and forwards just to see if what Naruto would do. When it got a little too close to the blond's face he tried to snap out and get it with his mouth. He bounced around trying to get it as Sasuke kept it just out of his reach and finally ate it himself.

"Nope, not done yet. It needs just a little more." He lied and smirked evilly at Naruto's unhappy expression.

"Let me try it too!"

"I'm the cook so I decide when it done or when it's not done, stop your whining and go wash your hands."

"I just took a shower."

"…"

"Yes sir, I'll go wash my hands."

When Sasuke looked a little too smug about be obeyed, Naruto decided to give him a final shove before he left.

They ate in silence and although they had all the time in the world Naruto did as usual and pretty much swallowed the food.

"Chew, you savage. This is not an eating competition there's no need to hurry."

"Mmfkay." There was food sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he said it.

"And don't talk with food in your mouth." Sasuke assessed the lack of manners. "Use you cutlery instead of your fingers."

This time Naruto swallowed before he answered with a grin; "Are you trying to make me into a civilized human being? 'cause I'm not sure whether I'm comfortable about that."

"Hn. I can at least try, can't I?"

* * *

After they had eaten they cleaned up the kitchen together. Sasuke didn't have to ask for help. Naruto just did whatever he could and asked once in a while when he didn't know where to put what. As they finished up Sasuke stretched his back and legs. It had been a long and eventful day for him and he was sure Naruto was tired too judging on his big yawn.

"Let's get your stuff into the guestroom. If you want to go to sleep that's fine, but I'm going to stay up for a couple of hours finishing some work."

"Can I watch TV?" Naruto asked with a hopeful voice. The way he said it made it feel like such a simple request was something special or extraordinaire for him.

"We should get your stuff ready first, but afterwards you can watch whatever you want to."

"Coool!" There were once again stars in his eyes and a look of awe on his face.

They took a bag each and brought it into the guestroom. It was just a small room with a bed, a nightstand, a closet and a mirror on the wall. There were no windows since it was placed in the middle of the apartment, not facing any of the outer walls. Except for a couple of boxes in the corner it looked quite empty and uninhabited. Sasuke didn't really know what to use it for and had often considered knocking down the wall separating it from his office to get more space. Now he was glad he didn't.

"This will be your room. You can put your clothes in the closet and nightstand. If you need anything just ask."

"Thank you Sasuke, this is really nice." Naruto sat on the bed and bounced a few times smiling at the feeling. "You almost make it sound like I'm supposed to live here."

There was silence for a moment.

_Live here? I shouldn't… he should go to school, have a real home and… but it would just be temporary. It's not like I use the guestroom anyway. There are more storms coming, what is he going to do then? But I'm not good with people, we wouldn't get along. But… he's not like other people. _

"I don't use this room and it'll be winter soon enough. You can stay here whenever you need to."

"Are you serious?" the blond's voice was disbelieving and his expression shocked.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded and shifted a little because Naruto's reaction made him uncomfortable. He wasn't used to facing gratitude from others and had tried to mask his decision with logic. He didn't want to seem too nice; it didn't fit his personality. Neither of them looked at the other and the situation became decidedly awkward as Naruto swallowed heavily, trying to remain calm.

_I did not sign up for this emotional crap, if he starts crying... Ugh, I can't deal with a weeping brat. I knew it there was no way I could get along with hi- _

"That's really great thank you Sasuke." Naruto said a moment later. His voice was a little too shrill, but the smile was back in place. "I promise not to be any trouble if I… need to stop by another time."

"Hn, you better not, brat." Better to break the tension with one of their usual insult than deal with any kind of feelings. And what "if he needed to" was he blabbering about? Winter was coming and every other homeless would have accepted the offer in an instant yelling "Hallelujah!"

After they had settled their little deal, Sasuke went to retrieve some sheets and other necessities. By the time he finally found an extra toothbrush he had let Naruto go watch TV, since he was more of a hindrance than a help trying to find it. Actually the older of the two hadn't known just how much crap he had managed to gather in his bathroom until most of it was lying spread out on the floor.

He had taken one look into the living room before he went to his office and began reading his emails. He had just seen the blond mop of hair sticking up from behind the couch and figured that the brat would be entertained just fine left to his own devices with a huge TV and a remote control. The door to his office was left open as he worked and he could hear the noise from the TV coming through it.

It was weird how different it felt having someone else in the house, without having to socialize with them, and being a polite host. Not weird in a bad way though, it made the house feel lived in. When he had been typing away for more than an hour, he decided it was time to hit the sheets and went back to the living room. Naruto was deeply absorbed in some quiz show and didn't even notice him. Sasuke grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.

"Time to go to bed."

"Aww do you have turn it off now? They just got to the million dollar question!"

"You can watch TV tomorrow as well you know."

Naruto perked up at this. "Okay!" The former show was immediately forgotten at the mention of further permission to watch whatever brainless show he wanted to.

"I'll just get you something to sleep in, go and brush your teeth while I do."

"I can sleep in this just fine. I mean it's really comfy, and you'd only have to wash one set of clothes."

"No it's fine I'll get you something else. You need to wear something tomorrow as well and I don't want you running around in the same, or in some of your own. When you are in my house, you will have to be properly dressed."

"Hey! I have that set you gave me isn't that proper enough for you?"

"Hn. Point taken, but I'll still get you something to sleep in." Sasuke said and left. A little while later he returned and threw a pair of pajamas at the blond.

"Good night."

"'Night, Sasuke, don't let the bed bugs bite." Naruto said in a sing song voice. His smile was blinding even in the tired fashion it was currently expressed. The brunet let a small smirk graze his own features in respond, but it was interrupted by a yawn. Naruto yawned too and laughed a little, making a funny airy sound. Both of them fell asleep that night, feeling better than they had in a long time.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter done. I've been away from home for a while, and am leaving again soon, so I'm trying to get whatever I can finished in between. Hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

Sasuke woke up with a start and sat up straight in the bed. Something had woken him, but he couldn't determine what it was. Then he heard a loud scared yell coming from the inside of his apartment. All confusing and drowsiness left him as he recognized Naruto's voice and he fumbled for the light switch. He heard a loud thump from the guestroom as the room was bathed in light and ran towards the sound. He turned on the light as soon as he entered and saw Naruto tossing around in bed mumbling and crying.

"Naruto, wake up." He shook the boy lightly. "It's a nightmare, it's not real. Come on wake up!"

"Mmmm, no! Let go!" Naruto struggled against Sasuke as he shook him again. His blue eyes opened suddenly and he took in a deep breath. For a moment he looked around in confusion and then he focused on Sasuke's face.

"Where am I? Sasuke?" he was almost hyper ventilating and there were traces of tears on his cheeks.

"You're at my place and it was just a dream. Calm down." Sasuke had let go of him, knowing that holding onto Naruto forcefully would only serve to freak him out as long as he still had the nightmare fresh in his mind. Waking up to the sounds of the homeless boy's nightmare had happened every other time the boy had stayed at his place. In the month that had passed since his first visit, he had stayed over quite a few times.

After the first time the blond had been reluctant to come back, more than a week had gone by before he set foot in the building again. Sasuke hadn't exactly forced him to come but when they had met over lunch he mentioned the news reporting about another bout of bad weather coming their way. Following his comment he had simply stated the time he would be home that evening, looked at his watch and gone back to work, without giving Naruto a chance to respond.

When the boy pressed the doorbell almost two hours late, Sasuke had practically run to the door. Not much was said between them that evening, because Sasuke had been angry as a result of his worry. He had heated up a plate with food in the microwave, and at the obvious proof that Naruto had been expected for dinner, the boy said;

"Sorry, I was late."

"Hn."

Nothing more was said about the matter, and the next time a weather forecast and time had been offhandedly mentioned during one of their lunch meetings, Naruto made sure to be there on time. The first time Naruto had had a nightmare was on the third visit and he had woken up by himself.

Sasuke, who still wasn't used to having someone else in his home, had been woken up by the noises of Naruto walking around the kitchen. He had then proceeded to scare the crap out of both of them when he stormed into the kitchen holding a floor lamp as weapon against what he thought to be a burglar. Naruto hadn't turned on any light and it wasn't until Sasuke was sitting on top of him, that he realized he had assaulted his own guest.

Unfortunately it wasn't every time that Naruto could wake himself up from the nightmares that haunted him and Sasuke had eventually gotten used to comforting the younger one in his own odd way. It involved none of the common touchy feely stuff such as hugs and a comforting pat on the back. Actually it seemed like anything physical spooked Naruto just after he woke up from his nightmares. He tried not to show it on the outside by keeping a smile on his face and drying off any tears, but Sasuke knew better. He had had his share of nightmares when his parents had died two decades ago and knew it was just a front.

"I'll go make some tea."

"Okay" Naruto sniffled one last time and gathered the duvet around him. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Hn."

Sasuke left the room to go make tea for them both. When Naruto came out wearing his duvet around himself they sat down next to each other at the dining table. They sat like that sipping at their tea for a while, not saying anything. If Naruto wanted to tell him anything he was free to do so but Sasuke wouldn't pry. He clearly remembered his sessions with his psychologist when he was younger, and didn't want to fill that role in Naruto's life. What Sasuke provided him with was a safe place, where the blond could come and go as he saw fit, no questions asked.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"How come you let me stay here?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Really? There's like a gazillion reasons you wouldn't want me to stay here. I'm a homeless bum who could try to steal your fancy tv-"

"Are you going to steal anything from me?"

"Well, no but that's not the point. You barely know me, I'm just a strang-"

"I've lost count of how many times we've had lunch together. I'd say we know each other pretty well."

Naruto hesitated a moment at that. "Don't you have uh.. friends? And other people who wants to spend time with you?"

Sasuke mulled over that for a moment. Friends? A few, but not the kind he would spend a lot of time with and sure there were people who wanted his time, but it was rarely a mutual feeling.

"Girlfriends?"

"No I don't have a girlfriend. Why are you even assuming I'd have several?"

"Dunno, maybe because you're cool, rich and handsome?"

"Thanks for the compliments, the answer is still no and I'm not planning on changing that."

"Why not?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"I like being alone."

"Aha! See, right there is a reason for you to _not_ want me here!"

"Naruto, it's…" Sasuke looked up at the clock on the wall. "Three in the fucking morning. Is there a point to this conversation or are you just trying to annoy me?"

"Sorry." He said and looked a little embarrassed.

"Good. Let's go to bed then."

"Can't we talk for a little while longer?"

Sasuke looked down into his empty tea cup. He was exhausted and not in the mood for pointless chitter chatter. He had to get up at 7 o'clock in the morning to go to work and knew he had an important meeting. He also knew that Naruto just wanted to stay up talking because he still hadn't shaken off the feeling of the nightmare and didn't want to be alone. He sighed and glanced at the boy watching him with an expectant look.

"You can sleep in my room if you want to."

"Huh? What it's not like I'm a baby…" the answer came with a nervous laughter and a deer caught in the headlight expression.

"Fine, then go sleep in your own room." He said and stood to leave. He was not a patient person to begin with, and waking him up in the early morning hours didn't make his personality any more pleasant. As he entered his bedroom he heard the quiet sound of footsteps following.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?"

"It's a king size bed, isn't that good enough for you?"

"You want me to sleep in _your_ bed?!" Naruto looked shocked.

Sasuke was sure that there were about a dozen of social rules being broken by letting a homeless boy, more than ten years his junior sleep in the same bed as him, but couldn't bring himself to care. He was just too tired and didn't really see any practical problem with it.

"Do whatever you want." He mumbled and crawled underneath the duvet. He turned off the light, and made himself comfortable. A few seconds passed and he heard a little shuffling around. Then he felt the mattress dip a little at the other side.

"Goodnight Sasuke." Naruto whispered in the darkness.

"'Night." He mumbled back.

* * *

How Naruto spent his days when Sasuke was at work he didn't know. They still had lunch together whenever possible, but some days Sasuke would be out of town. Most often they would leave together in the morning and the boy would be waiting for him in front of his apartment building in the evening. Sometimes there would be no one waiting for him, but those days had become few and far between.

Naruto had tried to bring his belongings with him whenever he left but Sasuke didn't let him leave with most of it. It was stupid to bring all of it along when they both knew he would most likely be back by evening. It was also a way for the older of them to make sure the younger wouldn't just run of at some point without warning. He felt a little childish at taking some crappy worn clothes and small things as hostage, but did it none the less. What weren't clothes appeared to be just small junk things that could be found in most souvenir shops, none of it seemed important, but it probably had some sort of sentimental value. Sasuke confirmed his suspicions one early Monday morning.

Naruto was sitting half asleep chewing on soggy cornflakes, as Sasuke went into the guestroom. He had been thinking about getting some more furniture for the room, maybe a shelf or some pictures or posters for the wall. Even with all of Naruto's things in there it didn't look lived in at all. His attachment to the boy was surely the reason for this sudden urge; he wanted Naruto to like the place. He wanted him to stay, just a bit longer, and not have to lie awake in the dark thinking about where the boy would be spending the night.

But as his eyes scanned the room, he saw something, just a little thing that confirmed the room was actually being used. On the night stand was a birthday card in all the colors of the rainbow. He picked it up gently and somewhat nervously, knowing that he was crossing a line by snooping around in Naruto's things. The corners were bent and worn and the motif a little faded. It showed a birthday cake with a candle shaped as the number one. Then he opened it, too curious not to.

_Dear Naruto_

_Happy first birthday! You are our little sweetheart and sunshine. We will always be there for you and let you have the best birthdays ever! This day is just for you so show us your cute smile. Many things will happen from now on and we hope that you always will be happy and grow up with many good friends and have lots of fun._

_Love Mom and Dad_

Inside the card was also a picture of the one year old Naruto sitting in a garden with some kind of berries in his hands and pretty much all over his face. His happy grin showed that he only had two bottom teeth and his blond hair was more white than the golden wheat color it had now. It was just as cute as it was heartbreaking. Sasuke put the card down quickly as if burned and hurried out of the room with a lump in his throat. _Always_. What a horrible choice of word they had. So it was the kid's birthday, huh? The wheels in his mind started turning.

"I'll be home early today," Sasuke said. "Around four o'clock, do you think you can be here at the same time? And we can have lunch at that cafe near the fountain today."

"Uh, sure. You know it's not like I do anything important anyway, so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to get home earlier than usual. It's not like I have work like you."

_ Or school for that matter. Wait did he call it __**home**__? _

"Good I'll see you then" He replied and tried turned away to hide a smile. Naruto probably had no idea about how much it pleased Sasuke to know that his efforts hadn't been in vain. "Now hurry up and go brush your teeth, there's not enough room in there for me to shave at the same time."

Naruto rubbed his chin as if deep in thought, and then said with the manliest voice he could muster; "Maybe I should shave too."

Sasuke's only respond was to raise both eyebrows and give him a you-can't-be-serious look. There was no visible stubble on the tanned face.

"What? I know how to do it!"

"Of course you do." Sasuke answered sarcastically.

"It's just because I'm blond so you can't see it much." Naruto argued a red spot appearing on each cheek. Then he suddenly took one of Sasuke's hands and brought it to his face. "See, you can feel it though. Right?"

Sasuke let the hand glide along his jaw, and could indeed feel that the skin was not as smooth as it appeared to be on first glance. Not much of a stubble, but he was only sixteen so that was understandable. Wait seventeen now, right? Then he realized his hand was still at the others face and hurriedly pulled it away.

"How old are you Naruto? Was it fifteen?" He asked pretending to have forgotten.

"Sixteen."

"How long have you been sixteen?"

A sudden flash of something crossed Naruto's face. _Bingo_.

"Not very long…"

A raised eyebrow at this. _What is he getting at?_

"Really? I thought it was your birthday today?" He knew he revealed himself at this point, but Naruto's answer had been odd. Wouldn't he want Sasuke to think he was older than his real age instead of younger? It didn't make sense.

"Wha?! How did you?"

"Birthday card on your nightstand."

"Oh, well yeah. I guess that's kind of today. No biggie, I haven't really celebrated it for some time anyway." He said and scratched the back of his head.

"So how old are you again?"

"Sixteen. That's what I said."

"Yes, but you also told me you were sixteen two months ago."

"Well… I was. Almost." Naruto looked down at his feet nervously.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. _Fifteen. Living on the streets at fifteen. What kind of life have you lived? What kind of people have you been around, and what happened to make you choose the streets?_

He gave the boy a once over and sighed. For a moment he wondered how he, a person whom generally avoided any kind of personal relations, had ended up in this situation. Naruto hadn't exactly snuck into his life, quite the opposite in fact. Sasuke was the one who was unwilling to let him go, and now it was too late anyway. Naruto had in few months become the person he spent most time with outside of work and no matter how little he wanted to admit it, Sasuke liked having him around.

He felt like he should reprimand Naruto for lying to him, but it was a lie told the very first day they met, so he had a hard time staying angry. They had been total strangers after all. Also to take into consideration was the now pleading look directed at him, big blue puppy eyes dissolving the last trace of anger in him with its cuteness. Flustered by his own reaction he pushed Naruto out of the way and ordered;

"Hurry up I don't have all day. Your age doesn't matter anyway. Fifteen, sixteen or seventeen, you're still a kid no matter what."

"Am not! I already have a beard and- and sixteen is not being a kid." Naruto yelled back at him stomping his foot and pouting. His puppy eyes always helped him out in these situations, what had gone wrong? The bastard was really too rigid for his own good if he couldn't even be affected by Naruto's ultimate weapon against grownups. Or maybe he was becoming too manly for it to work effectively anymore?

Very pleased with that thought, Naruto spend quite a while studying his features in the mirror while brushing his teeth. That of course resulted in Sasuke banging on the door yelling about some important thing that he absolutely could not be late for, but neither could attend with a stubble. Naruto decided to take his revenge and prove just how much of a grownup he was. Sasuke was let in almost 15 minutes later to see that Naruto had borrowed his shaving stuff, and had small pieces of toilet paper stuck to all the places he had cut himself. More yelling ensued.

20 minutes later a disheveled and unshaven Sasuke ran through his office building and made it just in time for the meeting. Neji, who worked with him on this project and was aware of his usual impeccability, rose quickly and exclaimed;

"What in the world happened to you Uchiha?"

After a moment of panicked thought, trying to find a decent excuse he sighed and said;

"A puppy. I got a puppy. " It wasn't really a lie. Those blue eyes were certainly not meant to be attached to a human.

"I didn't know you were a dog person." Neji answered hesitantly.

"Neither did I."

"Oh I love dogs!" Their long time client and forever oddball Kakashi suddenly announced. "What kind?"

"A stray." Really not a lie either.

"Oh I see, that's probably why you seem to have some… issues… disciplining it." He said with a smirk.

Sasuke scowled inside but tried to keep a pleasant business smile on the outside. Neji looked at him wearily. Wasn't it enough having to deal with Kakashi? Now he had to deal with an angry Uchiha as well?

Fate was not kind to him today.

* * *

I don't know when the next chapter will be done, but I am getting quite fond of this story and will keep on writing until I have to start school again in three weeks time. It might take awhile, but it doesn't mean it has been abandoned.


	5. Chapter 5

The fifth chapter! Let's be honest, I never thought I would make it this far. With more than 15.000 words, it is the longest story I have ever written. I was actually quite scared that I would run into a metaphorical brick wall as I did with my other story _Someday. _(Sorry for not updating it, I will get back to it eventually.) Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Sasuke drove home from work gritting his teeth. The meeting with Kakashi had dragged on for hours because the silver haired man insisted on giving him a bunch of useless advice about dogs. He had barely made it in time for lunch with Naruto, which was a little weird now that he thought about it. It wasn't like Naruto couldn't wait for him, especially after the stunt he pulled that morning. But it was the kid's birthday and Sasuke didn't want that.

Besides he wasn't that angry at him, not anymore at least. When he got angry at other people he could hold a grudge forever and plan revenge in silence. With Naruto he just exploded and it ended quickly afterwards, like a firecracker. Naruto didn't seem to hold a grudge either, and if there had been any it certainly disappeared when Sasuke let him have cake for lunch. He was so easy to please that way.

They had gotten to the subject about being a grownup or not once again and Sasuke had threatened with the only useful advice Kakashi had given him. Discipline. Naruto had had not taken him seriously at all and laughed loudly at the threat saying that there was no way Sasuke could make him tame like some lapdog. Sasuke feared Naruto was right, but insisted that he at least use a spoon instead of his fingers to eat the knew Naruto would have been happy with eating cake all day long, but felt it was his duty as the older one to make sure Naruto was fed and looked after properly.

He had decided to take him out for dinner on the occasion of his birthday, but not until Naruto had gotten his birthday presents. Sasuke figured those might have been few and rare in between for the boy. He pressed his lips together to avoid smiling like an idiot, when he saw Naruto standing in front of the apartment building and wave at him when he got home. Instead of driving into the parking lot he pulled over in front of the blond and said;

"Jump in."

Naruto had stars in his eyes as he jumped in and made himself comfortable. He picked up Sasuke's sunglasses lying between the front seats and put them on. "Cool, where are we going?"

"Shopping. Take of those glasses. It's autumn and you look ridiculous."

"Nuh uh, I look like a secret agent. Black car, sunglasses, incognito street wear, I even have an assistant to drive the car while I shoot after the bad guys." He said with a grin as he tried to open the window and stick his upper body out of it at the same time.

"Would you stop that! It's freezing outside!" Sasuke said and hit the button to make the window close. Thank god for fancy cars and all their buttons that made it possible for the driver to control just about everything.

"Arggh what are you doing?! I'm gonna get stuck here you bastard!" Naruto whined while struggling to get his head inside the car.

"Then stop fooling around."

"Stop smirking and being so smug all the time." Naruto pouted. "Where are we going shopping anyway? 'Cause if you're taking me grocery shopping again I'm gonna jump out the window for real. "

"You got all that instant noddle stuff, so stop complaining."

"I admit that's true, but you spent half an hour picking out vegetables!" Naruto replied with a miserable voice. "Who does that?"

"I'm particular about what I eat, and to answer your question; no we are not going grocery shopping."

"Where then?"

"You'll see."

15 minutes later they arrived at the biggest furniture store in the city, and when Sasuke pulled into the parking lot, Naruto looked quite confused.

"What are we doing here? You're not moving out, are you?" there was a hint of panic in his voice.

"No. We're getting something for the guestroom. It's time for it to look like someone is actually living there, don't you agree?"

The boy's eyes widened at this and he didn't move an inch when Sasuke started walking towards the entrance.

"Stop gaping like a fool. We don't have all day."

That was enough to get the blond running after him.

* * *

At first they picked out a table and chair, since the room was actually plenty big enough to have more furniture in it. Then lamps, one for the ceiling to replace the anonymous light bulb, and one for the new table.

Naruto didn't feel very comfortable about receiving such big gifts, so Sasuke told him that he would have bought all of it anyway to make the room more useful. They also got some shelves and a rug, at which point Sasuke realized how empty the room truly had been. There were only two of the things they bought that weren't really necessary.

Sasuke bought both after he saw how much Naruto stared at them and kept making detours to get back to them, though still refusing to ask for them. The first was a poster with some kind of superhero on it, and the second was a beanbag. The one Naruto had been circling around was bright red, and Sasuke, who wasn't exactly a fan of bright colors, sighed and told him he could get one if he could find it in another color. The boy returned with an orange beanbag and such a hopeful and happy look in his eyes that Sasuke didn't have it in his heart to refuse him.

_Damn puppy eyes_.

They left with all of it stacked on two huge trolleys. Sasuke tried to steer his in a straight line towards the car whereas Naruto thought it too boring and zig zagged between the lines of parked cars.

"Make sure you don't get my car scratched while you put the stuff in."

"Hmm, do you even think it's gonna fit inside? I mean I know it's all ready-to-assemble sets, but still, it just doesn't look like it'll fit." Naruto asked skeptically.

"Of course it's going to fit, we just have to pack it the right way. Here, hand me the table."

After some pushing and shoving they did indeed manage to fit it all inside, though Naruto would have to have the ceiling lamp in his lap.

"Okay let's get back with the trolleys and then go and get some food it's already seven."

"I know I'm starving!" Then Naruto turned to Sasuke with a mischievous smile. "Race you back to the store!" He yelled and put one foot on the trolley so he could use it as a scooter.

"Hey, no fair, you're getting a head start!"

"Haha you're just too old and slow!" Naruto yelled back at him and stuck his tongue out.

"I'll show you who's old and slow you little brat!" he yelled back and grabbed the trolley, with a predatory smile. Naruto was about to learn that Sasuke was a very competitive man.

* * *

"I won 'cause I got out of the parking lot first!"

"The goal was to get to the store, which means that _I_ won." The older of them said with a smirk. "Besides you got a head start you little cheater."

"I didn't cheat! I'm just faster than you!"

Sasuke could see another "am-not" "are-too!" argument coming and ended the discussion by giving Naruto a noggie. They got back to the car and drove to an Asian restaurant nearby. It was a simple and cozy place which fit Naruto's personality much better than the fancy places Sasuke had been dragged to for his own childhood birthdays. Sasuke had discovered Naruto love of Asian food early on and decided it would be another way of acknowledging Naruto's birthday. Naruto knew what he wanted the moment he stepped into the restaurant, some kind of noodle dish called ramen, and Sasuke decided to get the same just to try something new.

"Mmm Sasuke this is amazing. This is the best birthday ever!"

Sasuke felt torn about that statement. He was happy that Naruto enjoyed himself, but at the same his chest felt heavy and tense thinking about how the other birthdays must have been. He was pretty sure that this birthday wasn't competing with memories of birthday parties filled with balloons, presents and happy children.

"You're welcome."

"You know what?"

"Hn. No."

"I'm really glad that you ran me over that day." He said it with such a genuine smile that Sasuke stopped breathing for a moment.

"I mean it really hurt, and you were way too serious about everything. You must have had a stick up yo-"

"You're ruining the moment." Sasuke cut him off. "But thank you, I'm glad I met you too."

The blond scratched at the back of his head and fought the blush creeping up on his face. "Dude, why did you have go and make it sound totally embarrassing…"

Being made aware of it Sasuke got embarrassed as well and had to fight his own blush at seeing the blond's.

"Just eat your noodles."

"It's not noodles, it's ramen." Naruto mumbled.

* * *

They stopped at a convenience store on their way home and were both quite tired when they finally got back. Naruto insisted on at least trying to assemble the chair, since that seemed to be the easiest thing, so Sasuke found the toolbox for him. They tried to do it together at first, but disagreed heavily on how to read the manual. Sasuke was sure the black screws had to fasten the legs whereas Naruto argued that they were for the top part.

They agreed to disagree which was an improvement for the two of them, and Sasuke let Naruto do it all by himself. He hijacked the new beanbag and tried to get some work done, while keeping an eye on Naruto, to make sure the boy didn't hurt himself. After almost an hour of assembling and disassembling the chair Naruto proudly presented the new addition to his room.

At this point Sasuke realized two things. The first was how much influence Naruto had on him. The orange beanbag, the chair which was a light green like grass, the rug with three different colors, not to mention the poster and the lamps shaped like bubbles. He wouldn't have chosen any of it, had he gone to the store himself, and the guestroom would be the most colorful room in his apartment from now on. The second thing that came to mind was that the lamps and table was lying on Naruto's bed with pieces of cardboard, screws and tools scattered there as well.

"I think it's time to clean up, if you're going to sleep in your bed tonight. I'm going to bed now, you should too."

Naruto suddenly looked crestfallen. "Aww man, can't I do that tomorrow?"

"Where would you sleep then?"

"The beanbag?"

"Don't be an idiot." Sasuke sighed. He looked at the slightly smaller boy, trying to force him into cleaning up with just a look. It didn't really work that well, probably because he was tired. Speaking of looks…

_No, not the puppy eyes! I don't know how to deal with those, damnit… _

"Fine you can sleep in my bed, but don't you dare hog the covers!"

"Yay! Promise not to!" Naruto shouted and flung himself at Sasuke. The out of the blue attack turned into a hug, and Sasuke allowed himself to relish the rare heat of another human being. He even went as far as letting his arms encircle the other briefly, before pushing him towards the bathroom gently and clearing his throat.

"Go brush your teeth, I just need to go and get something." He said and escaped the embarrassing situation.

He wasn't really a hugging type and it was not like Naruto was family, not that he hugged Itachi often, god no. The blond wasn't his brother and despite their difference in age he didn't feel parental about Naruto either. The thought alone seemed preposterous. But did friends really describe what they were to each other? He was nothing like the rest of Sasuke's friends but there was no other category to put him in. He decided to let the matter rest, who cared anyway, it wasn't like anyone else knew of their connection to each other. He went into the bathroom with one of the plastic bags from the convenience store and dropped it on the cabinet in front of Naruto.

"Happy birthday."

"What's that?"

"Your present."

Naruto gave him a disbelieving stare. "But… I already got all that other stuff…"

"That was for the guestroom, this is just for you."

The blond reached into the plastic bag hesitantly and pulled his present out. Then his face split into a huge grin. "You got me shaving gear."

"Since you are sixteen now and you already showed me your impressive beard growth this morning," Sasuke said sarcastically "You will have to act as a man and take care of it properly."

"Thanks Sasuke!" Naruto hugged the older male again, and this time the raven didn't pry him off.

"You're welcome. I'll even teach you how to shave properly if you promise _never_ to use _my_ shaving stuff again."

"Hehe, promise promise." Naruto said and pressed himself even closer to Sasuke. When he finally let go Sasuke felt like he was about to explode of embarrassment and weird fluffy feelings. Uchihas were not meant for hugs, puppy eyes or any other adorable shit. It broke their brains and was therefore to be avoided at all costs. He was still standing in a daze when he realized Naruto had left the room.

They slept side by side that night as they had a couple of times before, when Naruto had had his nightmares. Naruto fell asleep first and Sasuke lay beside him listening to his small snores and deep breathing. It was the first time Sasuke wasn't exhausted enough to fall asleep immediately.

He knew there had been no singing or finely wrapped presents, but still felt that Naruto's birthday had gone well. He had given him what had felt right and it seemed to be plenty enough. Naruto expected nothing, so he would have been happy with even the smallest thing.

Sasuke turned around, so he faced the boy, and studied his features. Naruto didn't look like some sleeping beauty and neither did he give off some peaceful or serene air, he was just a sleeping teenager sprawled all over the bed. His limbs were going in all directions and his cheek was squished against the pillow. What made him so different from everyone else Sasuke usually were surrounded by, was that he was always so genuine and always wore his emotions on his sleeve.

He didn't think or care about how he appeared in front of Sasuke; he simply was the way he was. Even though the blond had his share of secrets and had lied about his age, Sasuke still felt like he was one of the most honest persons he had ever met, because he always said exactly what was on his mind without any regards for the situation.

It was refreshing to be treated as if they were equals, although all social rules directed that the most assuredly weren't. One lock of blond hair was sticking up straight into the air and Sasuke gently tucked it in behind a tanned ear. Then he hurriedly pulled his hand back to his own side, surprised by his own gentleness. Naruto would be able to wrap Sasuke around his little finger soon, if he didn't watch out.

* * *

Everything was warm and comfy. He was still in the state of not really being awake yet, but neither asleep anymore. He cuddled closer to where the heat came from and felt something tickle his cheek. It took him several long seconds to realize the position he was in and when he did, his eyes opened wide. The thing tickling him was a lock of blond hair, and the lovely warmth next to him was Naruto cuddled up to him. He even had his arm around the blond and they were laying chest to chest, only separated by one of Naruto's arms. The other arm was on Sasuke's side gently holding onto his night shirt.

_What in the ever living hell am I doing? This is not all right in any way! I shouldn't have- Oh God too late for thinking about that. I got to do something, right the fuck now!_

Sasuke, whose body was now stiff as a board, gently tried to pry himself out of the boy's grip on him and sneak out of the bed. The tan hand tightened its grip and a small noise of displeasure came from the blond's lips. The older male froze his movement, removed the hand carefully and continued his escape from the crime scene. He stood absolutely still and stared at the teenager in his bed, whom had moved to _his_ side of the bed during the night. His heart was thudding heavily in his chest and took a deep breath to relax himself.

_Nothing happened. Nothing. I- I am not some kind of child molesting scum who would take advantage of a young boy, that was not why I brought him to my apartment. Fuck, why do I even have to tell myself that? It was just an accident that he rolled over to my side. I just won't let him sleep here again, problem solved. His room will be nice and ready soon, he won't have any reason for coming in here …_

Sasuke didn't realize that he had started internally rambling to himself. The thought of something… sexual… happening between him and Naruto had never crossed his mind before, and now that it did it made him more than a little uncomfortable. Some people might claim that Sasuke's morals about treating other people well could be a bit off, but he had strong principles about certain things. He just didn't yell out loud about them for the world to hear.

One of those was about children or other people who couldn't take care of themselves, for no fault of their own. Children were precious and vulnerable things that had to be taken care of. Though he had not encountered many in his adult life, he still had this almost instinctive protectiveness of them. Just the thought of something… sexual… between him and Naruto was not only absurd but also horrible.

But Naruto was no longer a child, at least not fully anymore. He might not be an adult in the eyes of the law, but he had made it out there in the real world on his own, and his body was quickly becoming the one of an adult. Sasuke didn't doubt he would catch up to him in height soon. None of this mattered though. Naruto was not to be even thought of in that way. End of discussion.

* * *

I admit that there hasn't been much romance so far, but it will begin in the next chapter. I needed to get Sasuke and Naruto to know each other before I could steer them into that direction. (Mostly because I am sick of reading fanfics with grown up/teenage relationships, where neither of them seem to have any qualms about what they're doing, nor any kind of morals...)

Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far :)


	6. Chapter 6

Came back from holiday yesterday morning at 3 am, and hurriedly wanted to type this chapter, so apologies for any mistakes. I will get around to fixing mistakes later on. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

He didn't know why these thoughts kept coming back to haunt him, they weren't even appealing to him. Every time they got too close to the surface, he would squash them like a bug under his shoes. And just like bugs infecting a house, they would come creeping back from nowhere and slowly infiltrate his mind. Just a week ago he had not had a single improper thought about the blond, but now? They sprang to the front of his mind at any opportunity they got. It was like being a freaking teenager again. As if one teenager in the house wasn't enough already.

Naruto was of course totally oblivious to the internal fight in Sasuke's mind. He seemed happier than ever, and hadn't stayed out a single night since his birthday. He also seemed to think that it was just fine to hug (or, well throw himself at) Sasuke without much reason. Or lean on him if they sat beside each other on the couch. Generally they had not become more physical with each other; Naruto had always been a very physical person. But it had changed from being mock punches, kicks and pushing around, to becoming more friendly touches.

Sasuke honestly didn't know what to think of it, so he tried not to think about the subject at all. He went to work as usual, and Naruto would always be there when he got back.

Neji had had the guts to ask him about whether he was seeing someone since his schedule had become so regular in the last few months. With an icy voice he had given some poor excuse about the "puppy" needing company. He didn't know if Neji bought it or not. He couldn't say that he had really put much thought into a permanent solution for Naruto's living arrangements, and this became blaringly obvious to him one evening when his brother called. Itachi just wanted to discuss their Christmas plans, since he would be back in the country by then.

These people lived outside the little bubble he had created around his home, and they burst the illusion that everything was as it should be. What would happen if anyone found out about the homeless boy living with him? Naruto wasn't actually _supposed_ to be here. The thoughts about letting Naruto go was just as troubling as the ones about Naruto's child-adult status and everything it included. So Sasuke dealt with them in the same way; he pushed them away.

He had come home from work half an hour ago and was preparing dinner. Naruto chopped vegetables next to him and was humming happily along with the song in the radio.

"I'm done with the tomatoes, do we need anything else?"

"No that's fine. The meat just needs a few minutes more."

Impatient as always when it came to food, Naruto stepped closer to him to peek over his shoulder. The blond settled his head on Sasuke's shoulder and the raven tried to shrug him off, annoyed by the invasion of his private space.

"Move, idiot. it will not get done any faster, just because you watch it cook."

"Hey Sasuke, can you feel it?" Naruto asked with a teasing sound to his voice as he moved his head so close, that his cheek touched Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke tensed. What was the kid talking about? "No. Now get off." He answered through grit teeth.

As a response, the blonde slid his cheek along Sasuke's neck repeatedly.

"Okay that's enough!" he growled and pushed the boy away. The kid just smiled back at him very, very smugly.

"I've got stubbles."

Sasuke frowned and rubbed at his neck to make the scratchy feeling go away."Hn. Good for you." He said sourly. "If you already noticed, then take care of it."

"But you said you'd show me how?" Naruto pouted.

_Did I say that? Oh, yeah I guess I did. Hn._

"Fine I'll help you after dinner, just to make sure you don't make a mess of yourself like last time."

"I didn't make a-" one dark look stopped him from finishing the sentence. "Okay maybe I wasn't perfe-" a raised eyebrow stopped him this time. Then he grumbled something about bastards and went to sit down at the table.

They ate, cleaned up and went into the bathroom for Naruto's "shaving lesson". Naruto sat down on the toilet seat and Sasuke sat opposite of him at the edge of the bathtub. At first Sasuke tried to give Naruto directions on how to do it.

"So like this?"

"No! More gently, or you're going to cut yourself."

"Uh, okay, so this way?"

"You're doing it in the wrong direction!"

"There's a right direction?"

"Of course there is, you have to do it like this- "

"Ow!"

"Ugh, give me that, or you'll end up like last time." Sasuke ordered and took the razor out from the tanned hand. He grabbed a hold of Naruto's chin with the other and carefully steered the face to the right.

"Notice how I do it, okay?"

"Mmh hnnh." Naruto hummed in confirmation and looked at him with big frightened eyes.

"I'm not going to cut you, as long as you sit still." Sasuke said in a low murmur.

"Mmm."

Sasuke let the razor run along the jaw, the chin, then tilted Naruto's head up a little and let it graze along the upper part of his neck. It was different from doing it to himself, and his eyes were sharply focused on Naruto's skin to make sure he didn't cut the boy.

He was especially careful around the scars marring the tanned cheeks. He paused for a moment to let his thumb stroke away a blob of shaving cream on Naruto's bottom lip. The skin was warm and moist, something he would never notice on himself. Sasuke had no stubble before he turned eighteen, and even now he would never have been able to grow a beard, with the little amount he did have. His Asian ancestry made sure of that. He imagined how Naruto's father must have looked. Some huge blond Viking looking guy with a massive beard was all his imagination could come up with. The corner of his mouth pulled up into a barely visible smile.

He pushed the upper lip down gently with his finger to remove the hairs on top of it. He caught Naruto staring at his face, and the blond fidgeted in his seat. As he shaved the other side of his neck he could see the Adam's apple bob up and down as Naruto swallowed. He finished his work and studied the skin thoroughly with both eyes and hands.

"There, all done." He said and suddenly caught onto how uncomfortable Naruto looked. The boy tried to look anywhere but at Sasuke, and his face had turned red. Sasuke quickly pulled his hands away.

"You can wash off now."

"Okay."

He watched silently as Naruto splashed water on his red cheeks. The easygoing and comfortable feeling he usually associated with being in the company of the younger male was nowhere to be found; quite the opposite actually. An awkward feeling had snuck in between them, as if some sort of boundary had been crossed. It was like they had ventured into something too intimate, that neither of them knew how to deal with. But helping Naruto out shouldn't have felt intimate in any way, it was just the most practical solution, that was all there was to it. Or at least Sasuke tried to tell himself that was the case.

_There was nothing inappropriate about what I did. Was there? Ugh, my mind is going in circles, why do I keep thinking about such things? But Naruto is clearly embarrassed, I must have done something._

Sasuke gave a short instruction on how to clean the razor, in a monotone voice. Naruto's usual curiosity seemed to have cooled off for the time being and he simply nodded in answer to everything.

The attempt at steering them back to normal didn't seem to work at all, and Sasuke left him in the bathroom, so the boy could have some privacy for his shower. Listening to the running water he tried to get some work done, just to have something to occupy his mind. After a few minutes he gave up with a frustrated sigh, and simply stared at the screen of his laptop as if willing it to do something, to make him focus.

He was tired and his mind wandered without his permission. When was the last time he had actually touched another human being and felt the heat of bare skin against skin? Sure Naruto had begun hugging him, but that was not the same as what had just happened. You didn't just walk up to another person and start feeling up their face. Had he even touched his lovers in such a way? No, but none of them had really been _lovers_, more like acquaintances' with benefits. Not even friends with benefits, since he had cared more about the physical compatibility than the mental. He didn't do intimacy. Just no.

_That must be it! I am so unused to dealing with people on a close hold, that's all. Other people are probably used to all the affectionate stuff and physical closeness that comes with living so closely with someone else. It is just my brain and body getting confused about the sudden change. I can't even say it has been too long since I experienced… well, being with someone… 'cause I never have. Not even family wise, me and Itachi were never like that. Neither were my parents. I must have been acting strangely and Naruto picked up on it. I guess I'll just have to learn how to live with it; it seems to come pretty naturally to other people._

He felt an immense sense of relief at having convinced himself there was nothing weird about what was happening. It was a natural process of having to get used to something new, nothing more. He had become so used to Naruto being physically close to him all the time that he hadn't put much thought into where the limit of said closeness was, other than the most obvious. He would just have to learn along the way and hope to avoid any other tense and awkward mishaps.

* * *

It was Saturday evening, and they were both waiting for a movie to begin. Naruto stared at the microwave, impatient to get his popcorn, talking to himself about who knows what. Sasuke watched as the blond got the popcorns out, cursed when he almost spilled them, and cursed again when he burnt his fingers. Watching Naruto fumbling around was almost better than watching an actual movie, Sasuke thought and snorted in amusement.

Naruto sat down next to him at the couch, and began showing popcorns in his mouth. Sasuke wasn't really a fan of the snack, but let Naruto eat them anyway, even though they made the entire apartment stink. A few minutes into the movie he felt a weight settle on his shoulder.

Sometimes it baffled him, how some physical things apparently were totally okay and others not. Hugging and leaning on each other was fine, but touching Naruto's face, as with the shaving incident, or his hands weren't. He had taken a hold of Naruto's hand at one point and the younger had blushed and pulled back. Flustered and confused by the reaction, Sasuke had forgotten why he did it in the first place and they had both been tense afterwards.

It was also okay to ruffle up the blond hair, but not to tug it behind an ear. Ruffling it or giving a noggie would make the blond laugh, but tugging the unruly locks into place brought on an entirely different reaction. The big blue eyes would suddenly look vulnerable, and Sasuke didn't want to make Naruto feel that way.

Sharing a bed was, for some reason he could not comprehend, also all right. He had wanted to avoid it after his little revelation earlier, but it had only taken one bleary eyed blond, sitting sad and alone in his kitchen at three am once again, to change that decision.

Maybe he should have put more thought into why he even bothered touching Naruto, instead of where, and how to do it. Or maybe he should have thought about what his suddenly changed attitude on the subject might do to Naruto. But everyone can be wise in hindsight.

As they sat in comfortable silence, Sasuke shifted a little against the blond. The teen was like most teen boys are before they grow into the shape of a man; all bones and awkward angles. Naruto's sharp shoulder hurt his arm so he lifted it and brought it around the blond's shoulders instead. Naruto tensed for a moment and then seemed to melt to fit against his side. Sasuke watched the action movie and all its explosions with an absent look on his face, when he felt eyes staring at him. He turned his head, about to ask, what the matter was, and was met with intent blue eyes.

He shifted again, so he could face Naruto properly.

It was sudden. Very quick, just a peck on the lips, and totally unexpected on Sasuke's part. It was so very soft and warm against his lips that time seemed to stop for a moment. Then the lips pulled away and reality came rushing back.

Naruto had closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, and destroyed every thought of innocently playing house that Sasuke had convinced himself of. Blue wide eyes were staring at him and nervousness and hope was written all over Naruto's face. As the seconds ticked by and Sasuke did nothing but stare back in shock and disbelief with his mouth slightly agape, Naruto cheeks became more and more red. The smaller male shifted in his seat and his eyes flickered uncertainly back and forward between his lap and Sasuke's face, searching for an answer.

"Naruto… this-this is…it's not…" Sasuke stuttered out while slowly, almost robotically shaking his head. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest that he could hear the sound of blood rushing in his veins, and the movie had become a faint background noise.

All hope left the young face and the crestfallen look which replaced it almost broke Sasuke's heart. Those lips that had just kissed him ever so gently were now quivering trying to get words out, that wouldn't come. A half choked noise escaped past them and Naruto rose from the couch stiffly.

It felt cold on the side Naruto had been pressed against.

The blond stood rigidly and then almost ran to his room, eyes locked on the floor. But Sasuke had already seen the hurt in them and was just about to follow the blond, to say something, do something, anything that would remove that hurt and make things good again. He was shocked that he had not been the only one thinking about his housemate in more than just a friendly manner, but that didn't make it right!

Sasuke's brain clearly told him "Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!" while his heart screamed for him to go in there to correct the mistake. He wanted to let Naruto know that it was okay, that he wasn't mad, that he didn't hate it. But he held himself back, though it hurt to do so. It had all seemed so very wrong to even consider Naruto as a romantic interest, when he thought Naruto was innocently unaware. It had only made him feel like a creep to think about it.

Now when the boy suddenly showed he wanted it, a flood of thoughts overwhelmed him. Feelings that had been swept under the carpet, were suddenly coming forward. He _had_ wanted Naruto. _Did_ want him. But Naruto was a boy, not a man, not yet. Sasuke was eleven years older than the kid for crying out loud!

So at the same time as he realized the depths of his own feelings he crushed them, before they could be given time to bloom and become something more.

He shut the TV off and went to his own bedroom. A strange emptiness settled over him, but it did not prevent his thoughts from buzzing around in his mind. The thoughts didn't let him rest and followed him even in his sleep.

_No, he is so young, it's not a lover, but a parent he needs. He shouldn't be here with me._

_Maybe, I could let him…_

_We could live here, just the two of us, like we have so far, no one would have to know…_

_No! I shouldn't feel this way. Neither should he. I have to tell him. I have to make things all right._

_Would it be possible if…?_

_What if?_

* * *

Uh yeah, it was somewhat difficult to write this chapter, but I hope it turned out all right. Feel free to let me know what you think of it, I appreciate constructive criticism or any kind of feedback :)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 tadaa! Holy crap, the story is by now almost 50 pages in Word, and has more than a thousand views! I'm so happy I didn't hide it away on my pc like most of my other stories :D

Enjoy!

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To say that there was tension between them would be the understatement of the year. They avoided eye contact and spoke only when necessary.

Sasuke didn't know if he should feel relieved that Naruto hadn't snuck out in the middle of the night never to return, or grieve the loss of their bond. He wanted to talk about what had happened but couldn't muster up the courage. What would he have said anyway? He didn't even know what he wanted to happen from now on. He couldn't make up his mind and it was hard trying to convince someone else, if you couldn't even convince yourself

If it had been a normal workday, they would at least have been able to be apart and cool down. But no, of course it had to be a friggin Sunday where his boss for once decided not to bother him with some social arrangement. Naruto had barely left his room and it was awkward as hell being in the apartment.

Sasuke tried to occupy himself with just about anything, but none of it could keep his thoughts from going around in circles about the… the incident. At last he decided to go for a run to relieve some of the stress and told Naruto he was leaving through the closed door to the guest room. Well Naruto's room.

He had never thought about it before, but it was rare for the boy to close his door. Most of the time the teen was bouncing around, bothering him or keeping himself entertained in the living room. Having returned to the pre-Naruto silence of his home was eerie.

He ran towards the closest park to get away from the hustle and bustle of cars and people. It was raining lightly so he only had to share the park with people walking their dogs. He ran and ran, breathing in the air heavy with moisture and slowly felt his head clear. Things were still not simply, but there was only one solution.

If he could make Naruto understand that it wasn't okay for them to be together in that way, he could stay. If not… There wasn't really a plan B, but that was how it was. Sometimes hard choices had to be made, to make things work out for the best.

_But for how long?_ Asked a traitorous voice in his head. _For how long can you keep him as your little puppy, ignoring the world outside?_

He halted to a stop, not wanting to leave the little fantasy world he had build around him and Naruto. He was usually a very practical man, who prided himself in being realistic and not getting swept away. Where had all that gone? How had he ever fooled himself into thinking that he could be everything Naruto needed?

Cold and defeated he kept running. Though what he was running from, he wasn't quite sure anymore.

* * *

Days passed in unbearable silence. Naruto might be dense at times, but he had not needed any further explanation to understand that he had been rejected. They went about their daily routines the best they could, but every time Sasuke left the house he was afraid to come home and find it empty. He eliminated all thoughts about the blond when at work, but as soon as he left the building a cold panic would creep up on him and he had to force himself not to speed all the way home. He would breathe a sigh of relief, when he saw the lights were on in the windows.

Naruto had his own house key now, so he wouldn't have to wait for Sasuke to get home.

When Friday came around Sasuke didn't know what to do anymore, because surely _something_ had to be done. They couldn't spend an entire weekend together like this, it would be too much. The tension would explode in their faces and Sasuke was afraid of how that might end.

He steeled himself for the conversation he would have to initiate when he got home. Jeez, since when had he become such a chicken shying away from confrontations? Going through what he would say, he almost missed what he had kept an eye on the other days when driving home. The windows.

There was no light glowing out through them. The small hairs on his neck stood on end in alarm.

_It's Friday, I'm a little earlier than normal. He is probably on his way home. He'll be here in a minute. If I start cooking now, it'll be done when he gets back._

He entered the dark apartment and changed out of his work clothes. His eyes glanced at his wrist watch.

_He should be here soon. There's nothing to worry about. I'm out of eggs; maybe I should go by some? No I'll just wait 'til he's back. He would probably like to come with me, as long as I don't spend too much time on picking out vegetables._

He heard a sound from the entry hall and froze. "Naruto?"

Nothing. It was just one of his neighbors scrambling around outside.

/-/

As he sat down at the table with the food ready there was still no sign of the boy.

/-/

When the food had turned cold, the only sound to be heard was the ticking clock on the kitchen wall. He waited with growing dread.

/-/

The hand on the clock passed nine and he slowly got up to put away the food. There was no way he could get any of it down; it felt like he had been punched in the gut with a sledge hammer.

/-/

He had left the dining table in favor of the couch, but the TV was turned off and he just stared into space.

_/-/_

_He's not coming back._

The stars where visible in the sky, but though it was clear weather, the wind was howling outside.

_I really fucked up this time. I should have done something sooner. It's too late now, he's not coming back._

It was odd how shocked he felt. He had thought that somewhere in his mind he had prepared himself for the separation he knew would come eventually. The worst thing wasn't that Naruto wasn't here with him though. No what was worse was that the boy was somewhere out there in the cold, alone and no longer with a place to take refuge. Sasuke knew that things were bad between them, but he hadn't _really_ believed Naruto would leave.

Now I was too late. He had found the boy once before, but had no doubt that it was only because Naruto wasn't actively avoiding him, which would be the case now.

He couldn't bring himself to go to sleep, but the past week had left him emotionally drained. He wasn't used to feeling much at all. Feeling so much, both good and bad since he had met Naruto, had left him exhausted. He dosed off.

The tell tale clinking noise of keys brought him back to full consciousness. He was absolutely still for a moment, not believing what he heard, but then a light scuffle of shoes, convinced him. He scrambled up from the couch and into the hallway.

It was Naruto. That was all his brain registered, before he brought the teen into a tight embrace. He gingerly let go when Naruto made noises of complaint.

As he took in the appearance of him, his eyes widened in horror. Blood had darkened several locks of blond hair and the right side of Naruto's face was swollen and a mix between red and purple. His clothes were disheveled and torn at elbows and knees.

"What in the world happened to you?!" he almost shouted.

"I got mugged. Some stupid street thug, who couldn't tell me apart from the rich kids. He got really mad when I didn't have anything he could steal, that son of a bitch." Naruto answered and winced, because talking pulled at his split lip.

Sasuke felt rage boil in him. Oh how he wished he had been there so he could give that mother fucker a piece of his mind and preferably punch him to a bloody pulp. All the years at the gym would finally pay off.

But Naruto didn't need a rescue mission. He needed to get his wounds cleaned and probably an icepack.

"How bad is it? Have you broken anything? Are you hurt anywhere else? "

"My ribs hurt, but I don't think-"

"Where does all this blood come from?!" He tried to locate the cut on Naruto's head, which was still bleeding, with little luck.

"Ow Ow! It hurts!"

"I'm going to get the first aid kit." Sasuke said and turned around for the bathroom. Then he stopped in mid step and turned back around. "Come here, we need to wash the blood off."

"Oka-"

"Can you walk by yourself? I can help you-"

"No it's fine, I can walk."

"Okay." Sasuke let out a deep breath and rubbed his forehead with one hand. "Okay."

The immense relief of seeing Naruto back had been replaced with worry. He stumbled around trying to get the icepack, gauze, disinfectant and cotton balls all at the same time. He helped Naruto get his shirt and pants off and tended the wounds. He felt for broken ribs, not even knowing what he was supposed to feel for. Naruto hissed in pain and he pulled his hands away quickly. The cut on the head was small, but bled way too much in Sasuke's opinion. He fussed about Naruto and asked him a thousand questions about the different wounds and where it hurt.

Bandaged all over Naruto looked like some broken toy that had barely been fixed.

"You don't think you went just a little overboard with the gauze, do you?" The boy asked with a tired grin on his face. "Kinda reminds me of when we met, huh?"

Sasuke stopped for a moment and relished in the warmth of that smile, he had missed so much. Then he let a small one graze his own lips. "Yeah I guess it does. You really need to be more careful." He said teasingly.

"I need to be more careful?! Puh-lease, you were the one who ran me over!"

Sasuke couldn't even bring himself to continue the banter, he was too damned relieved. "I'm glad you didn't get hurt any worse than you did." He said and pulled Naruto into a hug. It was gentler this time, and he was careful not to put pressure on Naruto's wounded side.

"I'm glad you managed to get back here at all." He murmured against the blond mop of hair and felt Naruto slowly relax in his hold.

The wall that had been built between them crumbled as Naruto let his hands grab a hold of Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke never initiated hugs, but for today he would make an exception.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Good, me too."

It seemed like something had been repaired and mended between them when they let go of each other. Sasuke went to the kitchen and reheated their dinner in the microwave. When Naruto saw the two plates of untouched food and understood what it indicated his eyes widened a little. His lips started trembling and his blue eyes brimmed with unshed tears. Sasuke watched the change happen and hurried over.

"I'm sorry!" the boy choked out. "I was late for dinner and-"

"You idiot! That was not your fault!"

"I'm so sorry Sasuke, I didn't mean to."

"Shush, don't be ridiculous! Come on now don't cry." He said and made a second exception that night. Oh, to hell with his stoic Uchiha image, the boy _did_ need him.

Naruto sniffled and a sob escaped him

"I know that I shouldn't have done it…"

"What are you talking about? You couldn't know you'd get mugged."

"I'm sorry."

"Christ, stop apologizing already, I told you it wasn't your fault."

"I'm sorry that I kissed you."

The hand that had been awkwardly patting Naruto's back stopped and Sasuke didn't answer.

"I know, it's not right and I won't do it again." Another sob interrupted what the boy was trying to say. "I promise."

Sasuke felt sick to his stomach. So very, very sick that he felt like throwing up. He was absolutely disgusted with himself, for not correcting the misunderstanding currently taking place.

Naruto thought he was mad about the kiss. He thought he was the only one feeling that way, and that the kiss had been a major screw up on his part. And Sasuke being the emotionally stunted bastard he was, had done nothing to make him believe otherwise.

"It- it's all right. That was not something you should feel… sorry… about."

"Huh? It's not?"

"It was just as much my fault. You wouldn't have done it unless you thought I'd react positively to it, right?"

A sniff. "I guess not…?"

"I should have been more aware of what was happening and not let it get so far."

Naruto looked confused and still somewhat hurt. "What do you mean?"

"I- I was aware," Sasuke stammered out, "That we were getting too close. That things were getting out of hand."

Naruto brows wrinkled. "I don't understand…"

"We can't be together like that Naruto."

There, it was said and finally out in the open. The older male felt a lift weight from his shoulders at having done the right thing, though it did hurt to do so.

The blond stood stock still and silent as his brow slowly smoothed out and his face underwent a transformation. He went from confused to understanding and then an almost happy, or was it a hopeful look that sparkled in his eyes?

"So you like me too? I mean if you knew already you must have felt it too-"

Sasuke wanted to smack his head repeatedly against a hard surface. This was taking an unexpected turn. That was not what Naruto should get out of this conversation. He should simply understand that there was no way anything romantic was going to happen between them. No matter what either of them might, or might not feel.

"That is not what I said." His burning cheeks completely betrayed him. Damned be his pale complexion.

"But you do, right?" there was way too much hope in that voice.

"Naruto." He said sternly. "It doesn't matter. You are _sixteen_."

"When it comes to love age doesn't matter." Naruto said and sounded like he quoted some cheesy chick flick.

_What. The. Hell._

"It most certainly does matter." Sasuke growled. "I'm not going to discuss this with you anymore. I'm glad you're safely back, now go and brush your teeth and go to bed."

"_What!?_ You can't just- you can't pretend it's nothing and start treating me like a baby!"

"I own this place and can do exactly what I want to. Bed. Now."

He stomped away from the flabbergasted Naruto, angry that his whole plan had been shot straight to hell. Here he was trying to do the right thing, and it was pretty much just making everything worse. Another sleepless night was sure to await him, filled with thoughts about this new development.

Had that little shit thought they could just merrily frolic around under the rainbow without anyone batting an eyelid? Sasuke had known he was gay since his early teen years, but one thing was being gay, another was being with a homeless boy eleven years younger. There was just no fucking way that was going to happen. He should consider himself happy, if the social services didn't get him arrested for taking advantage of an underage boy.

He tried to direct his anger at the mugger instead of at Naruto, since being unnecessarily mad at each other wasn't exactly constructive to their living arrangement. He imagined all the ways he would make that sorry excuse for a human being suffer. It didn't really help in calming himself down. Then another thought came to mind and he felt a cold chill down his spine.

Naruto had gotten away without major injuries this time, but what about the next? It didn't even have to be an assault, it could be an accident. What would he do if Naruto needed to go to the hospital at some point? He hadn't thought about it until now, but he should have gone to the police about the mugger. He would have, if it had been anyone but Naruto.

It was alarming to think about how none of the public services were available to help if Naruto got in trouble. He might give the boy better living conditions by letting him stay, but was he really safe?

And what about education? What about the future? The thoughts kept coming back, but now it felt like he needed to make a decision. The mugging had simply made it more urgent. The whole revelation of their feelings for each other didn't make it easier either.

_Shit, I don't know what to do. No that's not even true; I know exactly what to do, I just don't want to._

His sleep was fitful that night and he woke up with a start from a horrible nightmare. It had begun nicely; he and Naruto were walking on the streets holding hands, and though he remembered nothing of what they had said to each other, he was sure that they had been happy. They had turned a corner, and then one more and the atmosphere had turned menacing. It felt like they were walking in a labyrinth of alleys and shady streets. Suddenly someone had jumped out from the dark and attacked Naruto. While Sasuke was watching helplessly, Naruto was stabbed again and again and blood colored all his clothes red. Sasuke couldn't move or scream; he could only watch it happen.

An ambulance and police appeared at the scene, but neither would help him. They just talked and talked:

"We don't have his personal number."

"What is his name? Who is he?"

"He doesn't exist; I can't report a murder of someone who doesn't exist."

"What is his blood type?"

"Are you immediate family?"

"I think he's dead."

"Oh, then we should leave."

So they left Sasuke alone on the roadside with the Naruto slowly bleeding to death in his arms.

Sasuke tried to yell at them, but could only get wheezing sounds out. He was covered in sweat when he finally woke up.

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I have the next chapter ready, but it is a little shorter than the rest. (Sorry!) I will probably post it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

As I promised; chapter 8, somewhat shorter than the rest. but it had to end were it did. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, faved or followed this story :)

Enjoy!

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Naruto tried to bring the subject of their discussion up again the next morning, but Sasuke cut him off. Then he tried again when at lunchtime, and again in the evening. When he tried to talk to him through the door as Sasuke took a shower, he yelled at him to shut up and give him a moment of friggin privacy. It hadn't helped either that Naruto's injuries prevented him from leaving the house, because he was sore everywhere. The day after was little better.

He hadn't accounted for Naruto being so persistent about it. There was no possible future for them, why couldn't he see that? Besides Sasuke had already made up his mind when he woke up from that nightmare.

Every hour he spent in the company of the blonde just made him more certain about his decision. Not because he couldn't stand being with the other, or was annoyed, no quite the opposite. The temptation to just give in and let things happen was too great. He could feel himself slipping and he wasn't as firm in his resolve as he wished to be. Definitely not as stubborn as Naruto either. He would be fighting a losing battle and he knew that it was only a question about time before he would give in.

The thought of having something more with Naruto pulled at his heartstrings. Choosing his partners had always been about physical attraction, now that feelings were involved his heart soared to grab the chance. It had been starved for affection for so long that a hunger unlike any other had built up and if he took one bite he would want to have it all.

There was no longer a middle way. No compromises could be made, and he had been foolish to think so. But he also knew that Naruto didn't share his opinion and would do everything to fight it.

For Naruto it must have felt like he already got that first bite, when Sasuke accidentally admitted that their feelings were mutual. Now Naruto wanted more and he was sure that he could get it as well.

It was odd how he had wanted them to be close and comfortable with each other again for almost a whole week, but when it did happen everything had gone south. Now they were getting _too_ close. He let Naruto talk and ask, but only answered very few questions. He enjoyed the way the tanned cheeks turned dark pink when the boy tried to convey that he really, seriously wanted them to be together, but it was a bittersweet feeling. Sasuke's arguments were halfhearted, but none the less true.

They were both in unknown territory and it was only because Naruto's eagerness won over his embarrassment that they talked about it at all.

"Even though our ages are a little apart, I'll be eighteen soon and then it won't matter at anymore."

"Two years is not soon."

"We don't have to… like do… stuff…"

_Oh dear lord are we really talking about having sex?_ Sasuke wanted to clasp a hand over Naruto's mouth to stop the words from coming out, at the same time as he wanted to shoot himself for ever allowing Naruto to get that far with his happy little fantasies.

"No we don't."

Naruto's eyes lightened a little at being agreed with, but his expression deflated at the next comment.

"We are not going to do any kind of 'stuff' no matter what."

"But there's nothing wrong with just kissing-"

Both of them were red as tomatoes at this point and if it was possible to die of embarrassment, Sasuke would have been six feet under by now.

"Naruto, please stop."

There was a long silence with the TV as the only background noise. Naruto pouted a little, but then seemed to get another idea.

_If I was religious I would say this is some kind of test…_

The boy had sat across from him at the dinner table, talking while Sasuke tried to hide behind his laptop. Now he rose and sat next to the raven instead. The stare from those blue eyes was very intense and difficult to ignore. Sasuke shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Naruto was sitting unnaturally close to him with their shoulders touching.

"What are you working on?"

_Huh? Talk about a change of subject. _

"Sending e-mails. Why?"

"Hmm, no reason."

Sasuke shot him a skeptical look and after an entire awkward minute passed, where Naruto only stared at the screen he reluctantly began actually checking his mails. He knew something was up, and got his suspicions confirmed when he felt a warm hand slowly cover his own. He gave Naruto a sharp look.

"What" the teenager croaked. "I'm not doing anything."

Sasuke refrained from replying in words and stared and the tan hand holding his pale left hand, then shifted his eyes back to Naruto's face.

"What? It's normal for friends to-"

One final glare shut him up and the hand went back to the lap of its owner. It left a tingling and cold sensation on Sasuke's skin. He felt a small shudder down his back. Naruto's attempts at seducing him were laughably innocent, but got to him none the less.

_Just one bite… It would be so easy._

"Naruto I think it's time that the laundry is done, will you give me a hand with it?"

The youth sighed. "Sure thing."

They both knew that the laundry could bloody well wait another ten minutes, but left for the basement anyway. This everyday chore had suddenly taken a new meaning to Sasuke after his decision. He tried to burn every little detail into his memory, though he knew they would fade eventually.

They went grocery shopping afterwards and he let Naruto get all his favorites. Some people stared at the bruised up boy. The set of clothes that had been torn up, was the one Sasuke had bought him, so now Naruto wore his old baggy pants and hoddie. The grocery shopping turned into shopping for clothes and they spent the entire Sunday afternoon at the nearest mall. Lucky thing it was the first Sunday in the month and all the shops were open until late.

Naruto had only wanted one new set, but Sasuke got him three and a pair of shoes. As revenge Naruto kept asking Sasuke if he looked hot in whatever shirt he was trying on or if the pants made his butt look good. After one too many weird looks from the sales ladies he whacked the blonde over the head on the uninjured side.

It should have been more awkward between them with everything taken into consideration. But as long as they stayed clear of actually voicing their problems, they could enjoy their time together.

They ate out that evening at Naruto's favorite place and had returned to a point where they could talk normally with each other again. Naruto shamelessly tried to flirt with him, and Sasuke could only shake his head at the cheesy pick up lines as he felt his heart growing heavier and heavier. He tried to smile a little, but it became nothing more than weird grimaces.

At last they finished their meal and got back to the car with everything they had bought. Naruto looked out the window and cranked the volume on the radio up. He hummed the melody of some new pop song Sasuke didn't know. It took a while before Naruto caught on and grew curious.

"Hey where are we going? This is not the way home."

_Home._

"You'll see."

They were getting to the outskirts of Konoha, where vegetation began to replace grey concrete and asphalt. They went past the town sign and into a forested area. Sasuke's hands tightened on the steering wheel as he pulled into an almost empty parking lot.

"Uh, Sasuke where are we? Are you sure you haven't got us lost?" Naruto asked with a cheeky grin.

"No, this is the right place."

"Okaaay, what are we doing here?"

"Come with me." He said and stepped out of the car. He left everything in it; there would be time enough for that later. As they walked side by side along a high hedge towards their destination, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand in his.

He could have killed himself at the look of happiness and embarrassment that lit up Naruto's face. He squeezed the hand lightly and Naruto squeezed his back harder.

_This is for the best._

They got to the end of the hedge and an entrance to a big red brick building came into view. It was an old style building surrounded by huge green areas and with a big black iron gate. A gravel road went from the gate to the entrance. Sasuke opened the gate and Naruto hesitated at his side.

"I don't think we can go in here, it looks pretty official, ya know." He said uncertainly.

Sasuke just squeezed his hand in response and pulled him along.

"Sasuke?"

He didn't answer. Wasn't sure if he could. Luckily for him Naruto was so focused on him, that he didn't see the place for what it was, until they were a few meters in front of it.

"Sasuke, come on, I want to leave. I bet someone is going to get pissed that we just walked in he-"

Naruto stopped mid sentence when he saw the big white letters over the entrance spelling:

**_"Konoha Foster Home"_**

Sasuke might forget how Naruto looked folding laundry or eating his favorite dish someday, but he would never be able to forget how Naruto looked at him then.

Disbelief. Hurt. Betrayal. Desperation. It was all there in one look. Naruto tried to pull his hand away and whimpered.

"_No!_"

Sasuke did not let him go.

"Naruto, this is for the-"

"_NO!_" Naruto screamed. "_Let me go! Let me go you lying fucking bastard_!"

The entrance doors opened to reveal a police officer and what Sasuke assumed to be the leader of the foster home, whom he had spoken to on the phone earlier that day.

At the sight of them Naruto's eyes filled with panic and he struggled as if fighting for his life to get free. Sasuke held him close to his body so he couldn't move.

"Let me go! I hate you! _I hate you_! _You liar,_ _this is not for the best_!" Naruto half screamed half cried as he hit and kicked with all his might. It was not enough. Sasuke was much stronger, and one could even say it was easy for him to hold the teenager in a tight grip, if they didn't know any better.

His heart was breaking at the desperate cries of Naruto, and it took all his willpower not to let him run. He felt like taking a feral cat to the vet, telling it everything would be better soon, when he in reality knew it was going to be put down.

Though it might be for the best in the long run, he knew a part of Naruto's spirit would be broken that day. He had thoroughly betrayed his trust and didn't doubt Naruto's hateful words thrown at him. He could feel the sobs wracking the young body in his arms and would have cried too if he hadn't felt like stone all the way through.

He had to leave his own emotions behind to get this done.

The buff police officer came up to him and grabbed Naruto firmly by the arms. He slowly removed the boy from Sasuke while Naruto clawed at the raven like some wild animal.

"You can't do this to me! You can't! You were supposed to _protect me_!" he cried.

Sasuke took a step back and forced himself to keep on looking. That was the least he could do. Naruto kicked and yelled until the friendly looking foster care worker stepped in between them.

"Hi Naruto." The brown haired man's voice was calm and soft. "I'm Iruka."

Naruto seemed to deflate and was suddenly just a crying boy held in check by a big police officer. He looked like someone who needed to be rescued more than restrained.

"We're going to take care of you here from now on." Iruka said with the most non-threatening smile in history. Naruto's eyes weren't on the brown haired man at all though, they were focused on Sasuke. Tears streamed down his cheeks and his sobs were reduced small wheezing gasps.

"_You're leaving me._"

He couldn't say anything; his voice was stuck in his throat. So he gave a stiff little nod instead.

"You're leaving." A loud sob. Sasuke turned to Iruka, his eyes pleading for understanding. He hadn't told the entire story about him and Naruto, but Iruka seemed to understand enough. They had agreed to meet later so he could explain why leaving this way was the only option. With a last look at Naruto he turned to leave.

"Sasuke please! Don't go! Don't leave me here!"

His steps grew faster.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, _I'm sorry!_" Naruto sobbed "I won't bother you with it anymore! Please _don't go!_"

"I promise to stop being annoying, Sasuke! I promise not to do anything anymore!_ Sasuke!_ I promise, don't leave!"

The farther away he got the louder the yells got and the more desperate.

"I won't ever forgive you if you go! Come back! Come back you bloody bastard! I hate you!"

"Sasuke! Sasuke don't go! Sasuke! You can't just leave me! Come back!"

The screams didn't stop when he turned around the hedge and out of sight. He could hear them all the way to the parking lot.

"_Sasuke!_"

He felt wet cold streaks down his cheeks as he got into the car and started the engine. Even with the windows up, he could hear Naruto's cries. As he drove past the gate he saw Naruto run towards it. The last thing he saw was Naruto hands sticking out between the iron bars in the rearview mirror.

Like a wild animal clawing to get out of its cage.

* * *

The End

l

l

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Just kidding, there's no way I could leave it like that. Unfortunately I just got back to school (Why holiday, why? couldn't you just be a little bit longer?)

So can't make any promises about the next chapter. I already more than a third of it done, but I might be busy from now on, so who knows when I'll get the time :/


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 ready to go! I never thought I would write this many chapters, but here it is. Passed the fifty pages (close to sixty by now) and more than 2000 views. Wow, thank you to everyone who read, faved, followed or reviewed, you have no idea about how much it means to me.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Knowing that Naruto was safe and well provided for should have helped, but it did little to lessen the guilt. He had earned the boy's trust and then thrown it away like it meant nothing.

The few things he had given Naruto over time could all fit in two plastic bags. He couldn't do much about the furniture, but had persuaded Iruka to let Naruto have his beanbag. Cleaning out the guestroom had been a painful ordeal and when Naruto things had been removed, it looked just as uninhabited as before.

He delivered all the things to the foster home the day after. Returning to the place secretively made him feel like the worst kind of scum. As he spoke with Iruka in the man's office, it took all his willpower not to run out and find the boy, so he could apologize. The only thought that kept him in check was that Naruto now had a future full of possibilities ahead of him. How would his future turn out if he had let him stay?

Living like a fugitive for two years, just so he could become a reject of society, with no education or a penny to his name. Sasuke could have provided for him in secret, but what kind of life was that? Even he associated with other people than just Naruto, and he could not imagine that Naruto would be truly happy being stuck in that apartment with only Sasuke as company. It was a sweet dream, but it was nothing more than that. A dream.

He knew what it was like being alone without parents or any friends and wanted Naruto to have at least one of those. It came at the price of their friendship and everything it could have turned into.

Sasuke spent the first weekend after their separation cleaning the entire apartment. Every trace of Naruto ever living with him was erased. He washed the sheets in both bedrooms and aired out for hours despite the cold weather. Not even the distinct smell every person has was left.

He worked overtime every single day and brought the work with him home the following weekend to keep his mind occupied. He did the same the weekend after, but found it was not enough. The silence in the apartment made him go mad and he couldn't for the life of him remember what he had used to spend his time with.

Lunchtime was spent in the cafeteria. Breakfast and dinner was spent alone, but rarely at home anymore. He ate out as often as possible and even tried being social with his colleagues at work.

Neji asked him about the sudden change in his work schedule one dark November afternoon, and Sasuke told the long haired man that he had gotten rid of his puppy and therefore had time on his hands again. This time he was sure the other man was not convinced by his lie at all. The skeptical and pitying stare he had gotten for his lousy excuse said more than any words could have.

* * *

December was just around the corner and a load of social gatherings and Christmas parties came with it. Sasuke was not a fan of such things and would only have attended them to secure business deals and his social network with clients, in the past. Now he attended every single one of them to avoid going home.

At the farewell party, before Christmas holidays began, he got particularly drunk and a very disgruntled Neji had to carry him home, before he embarrassed the entire company. In his drunken state the pitiful Uchiha babbled something about how life was not fair and why all good things had to come to an end. Then he threw up and as if literally vomiting was not enough, word vomit started spewing from him as well.

"I screwed up Neji."

"I could not agree with you more at the moment." The taller man muttered annoyed.

"I've never cared about anyone like that before, and I totally blew it."

The brunet's pale eyes widened considerably. Was the stoic emotionless Uchiha Sasuke spilling out his love troubles while being intoxicated? The man who always wore a professional front and never seemed to care about anyone else? It would seem so.

"Uchiha."

Barely any reaction except from some pathetic mumbling about love, life and whatnot.

"_Sasuke_. Pull yourself together."

They had never been on first name basis, but the situation called for it.

"Sorry."

Neji was not like Sasuke. He knew how to comfort another person, and could potentially do it, but simply refused to. The brunet sighed heavily and stood to leave.

"I don't know who managed to get under your skin, but I suggest that you either do something about it or forget her."

"I already did the right thing." In his drunken state Sasuke didn't bother correcting the gender swap of his special someone. Not like he needed his colleagues to know he batted for the same team anyway.

"Then forget."

"I can't."

Neji cursed under his breath, but stayed another half hour in the end. As soon as he knew Sasuke was safely asleep he left.

* * *

Itachi visited for Christmas and stayed at his place for from Christmas Eve until the day before New Year. His big brother commented on the new furniture in the guestroom and how particularly colorful it was compared to the rest.

"I see that you are finally embracing the colors of the rainbow, dear little brother." He said with a teasing smirk.

"Hn."

"Are you by any chance making it more livable for your better half?"

"You know I don't have one." Sasuke growled. The memory of Naruto was still painful, but there was no way he would ever share it with his brother.

"Too bad."

"Hn."

That was how a lot of their conversations went. Itachi pried and teased a bit and Sasuke answered with his non informative 'Hn' or some sour comeback. Being coped up inside was beginning to bore them on the fourth day. Light snow was falling outside, but it was not cold enough for it to stick to the ground.

Sasuke was looking out the window and thought about the present he had sent Naruto for Christmas. It was book with all kinds of crazy and funny scientific facts and a proper winter coat. The coat was light blue like his eyes and lined with soft sheepskin. Naruto had seemed fascinated by the book the one time they had gone to a bookstore together, and Sasuke hoped it could satisfy the boy's ever growing curiosity. He knew neither gift had much sentimental value, but hoped for nothing more than for Naruto to accept them at all.

He had spoken to Iruka several times, but each time had been emotionally exhausting. In the beginning he was told that Naruto was distrustful and uncooperative, the second time the boy had even tried to run away. It made him doubt his decision and left him sleepless many nights.

Getting told that things were starting to look better, pained him almost as much. It only confirmed that he had done the right thing. That Naruto was better off without him. That he was getting on with his life, while Sasuke didn't.

Itachi had taken notice of his lousy mood. Suddenly he said;

"We should go clubbing."

"What?"

"You heard me. Let's go right now."

"You can't be serious…"

"I am. Seeing you brood like some pms'ing teenage girl is annoying as hell. You need to lighten up a little."

"Itachi even if we did find an open club-"

"There's plenty of open clubs Sasuke. What do you think everyone else, who aren't having family dinners, are doing?"

"I'm not in the mood."

"I can see that."

"Then stop bothering me about it." Sasuke muttered.

Silence fell upon them again, but it wasn't for long. When Itachi spoke this time, his voice was serious.

"Little brother, what's wrong? I haven't seen you like this for years. Has something happened?"

Sasuke sighed. "It's nothing, I'm just tired. Been busy with work for too long I guess."

Itachi made a disbelieving noise.

"Really, it's nothing."

In the following year he told Itachi this lie many times more, though both of them knew, it was a lie.

* * *

It was a long winter that year. When spring finally came around Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. The cold and darkness had done nothing to improve his mood. Going to social gatherings had just been to distract him; he hadn't really enjoyed any of it. Without realizing it he had isolated himself from other people, after he had left Naruto. The occasional update on the boy's life still brought him back in the dumps, but things were generally starting to look better.

When he tentatively began reaching out to others again, Neji took pity on him and introduced him to the group of colleagues he usually hung out with. It was not a close knit group of people who spent all their time at each other's places like teenagers. It was a group of busy business men, who knew the hardships of a stressful everyday life, but dropped the professional façade when they met.

Shikamaru, Kankuro, and Shino were the members of the group he saw most often. Sometimes Ino and Neji's cousin Hinata from the administration department would join them. Though he observed more than interacted, being a part of the group held the loneliness at bay.

By summertime the group had become quite aware of his single status. Ino tried to pry about his love life and set him up on a blind date, much to his chagrin. Of course she couldn't know that the poor woman she had set him up with never stood a chance. But it did make him think about the possibilities.

Maybe he could move on if he started seeing someone? Just casually like before, but it could work. It might also stop some of the dreams he had been having. Dreams that he didn't think would bother him after his teenage years, but had come back full force after Naruto.

They were embarrassing, made him feel like a pervert at times, and were also a cruel reminder, of what he couldn't have. His mind twisted innocent memories of Naruto into something entirely different. Warm tanned skin, a body close to his own and soft pecks to his lips were reoccurring elements in these dreams.

It was weird how his mind could easily let him devour the youth, but never let them kiss in any other way than the only real kiss shared between them. A soft peck, so quickly over with, and though sweet, not very satisfying in the long run.

So he tried finding a replacement for Naruto. No, not even a replacement, simply another distraction. It didn't go well. He went to one of the bars where he used to meet up with men, but only felt disgust at himself. There was no way he could try to do anything with anyone when feeling as he did, so he gave up shortly afterwards and went home.

He had never thought it possible, but even though the two of them never had been together as lovers, it didn't mean he couldn't be heartbroken. He had never felt heartbreak before and had always thought it only happened to people who had _actually been together_. He had certainly never thought it would happen to him.

As summer came to an end he was reminded of the autumn days they had spent together. It wasn't everyday or all the time, but subconsciously it was there all the time none the less. He had had something, gained something that had become a part of him, and while he might not actively be thinking of the loss he was never unaware of it either.

He had always thought people, who said losing someone dear was like losing a limb, were exaggerating. Now he knew better.

* * *

It was during the monthly call to the foster home, that he finally asked Iruka a question that had bothered him for a long time. He was hesitant and there was a brief pause in their conversation, before he asked quietly;

"Does he ever talk about me?"

"Hmm, I'm not the one he speaks to the most…" Iruka seemed to ponder about the question for a moment. "Yes, there was one time…"

Sasuke felt a sick flutter of hope in his chest. "What did he say?"

"Well it wasn't really _about _you. He hasn't got much of an education, but he does seem to know a lot about some subjects."

It was true. Since Sasuke had no legal rights to know anything about Naruto's life he only knew very little about how Naruto before they met. He had only been told that the boy had been living on the streets for more than a year and prior to that had been shifting between foster families and different foster homes since he was four. No details. Iruka had then proceeded to tell him, that they took great care of keeping the children's and youths' often troubled pasts confidential.

"So one time I asked him about where he had learned… well I think it was some physics, I don't really remember, and he said you had taught him."

"Did he seem… troubled?"

Iruka sighed. "He did in fact…"

"I see." Sasuke said and felt a little heavy at heart. So the boy could barely stand speaking about him.

"I think he is still upset about how the two of you parted ways."

"Yes, that is understandable."

"I want you to know that you did the right thing. He might have been down when he first got here, but he is much happier now. Though school doesn't always sit right with him, he has gotten friends there, and I think he'll do well. Living on the streets on the other hand…" Iruka paused and sighed again.

"Trust me when I say that I've seen too many promising kids end there. It isn't a way to live, it is day to day survival. Not a life I would want for anyone."

Sasuke didn't speak of his dreams to keep the boy with him. He knew they were ludicrous.

"Thank you Iruka. I have sent a package, which might arrive tomorrow. Could you please give it to him on the tenth?"

"Are you sure you don't want to deliver it yourself?"

"Yes."

Just the thought of meeting Naruto… He wouldn't be able to walk away from there without the boy a second time. His brain promptly ignored the fact that Naruto probably hated him know and wouldn't want to leave with him anyway. In all the time they's been apart, the boy had made no attempt to get in touch with him.

"Then I will give it to him."

"Thank you."

* * *

Time flew by. Every day was much the same and he had gotten his life back on track. More than half a year passed. It was only when people specifically pried about his love life that he felt the twinge of something carefully hidden away in the back of his mind. Like it was happening right now.

"Sasuke, don't you think it's time for you to find someone to share your life with?" Itachi said. "Being single doesn't suit you, you are way too grumpy."

"So you're saying I need to get laid?"

Itachi gave him an annoyed glare. "You know that's not what I'm saying. But you're almost thirty-"

"Oi, don't put two years to my age."

"Your twenty-ninth birthday is in a month."

Sasuke grumbled something about why Itachi was visiting him at all. It wasn't like there was some special occasion.

"Don't you ever think about love? It doesn't temp you at all?"

"Love is messy."

"And what would you know about that, dear little brother? As far as I know you've never been in love."

Uh-oh how to dodge that one? Silence. Yes speech is silver silence is gold, especially when you really can't answer the question.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Are you- no way, you are! You are blushing!" Itachi howled with laughter."I haven't seen you do that since you were an awkward teenager!"

_Fuck!_

"I am not!" then he sourly added; "And I wasn't awkward as a teenager…"

"Don't try to deny it! Who is it?"

"Who is what?"

"The lucky one, of course."

There was a silent battle between them. Sasuke glared with all his might, but thinking about _whom_ exactly they were talking about made his face turn a darker and darker shade of red. Itachi's eyes were shining with glee, and the grin on his face was threatening to split his face in two.

"Have I met him?"

"There is no lucky one." Sasuke growled. "So, no, you haven't."

"You are my baby brother; don't you think I can see when you're lying?" Itachi said smugly.

"_There is no lucky one_." Sasuke hissed. This time Itachi caught the hint of pain in his little brother's voice. His face suddenly turned menacing.

"Did he dump you?"

"What?! No." Sasuke sighed and rubbed his forehead. Then he muttered; "If anything, it was the other way around…"

Itachi looked at him incredulously. "You finally fell for someone, but you _dumped_ him?"

"I had to." _Shit, I'm digging my own grave now_.

Itachi raised his eyebrows and made a motion with his hands urging him to elaborate.

"_Why_?"

Silence seemed to be the best option again. If Itachi knew he had wanted to lay his hands on a minor… His face went tomato red again.

"Did he cheat on you?"

"No."

"Wanted you for your money?"

"He would never-" realizing the slip of tongue Sasuke's teeth clicked as he shut his mouth.

"What then, was he some overly jealous freak?"

Sasuke shook his head. Naruto had never complained about not getting attention enough, he was just happy with what he could get.

"Didn't he love you?"

Ouch. Ow, ow, ow, that one stung the most. His felt a lump in his throat. Naruto had loved him, no doubt about that. He may not have said the three special words, but Sasuke knew. The adoration had shined brightly in those blue eyes.

"He did."

"I will return to my first question then; why in the world did you dump him?"

"It just wasn't meant to be."

"Cut the crap Sasuke, you should know you can be honest with me. About everything."

A big knot of pain in his chest tightened at those words. He had kept this to himself for so long already. He had never mentioned Naruto to anyone, and it had become increasingly heavy burden to bear alone. Never being able to voice, what sat as a torn in his heart.

"I- " He took a deep breath. "He was young."

"Okay?"

"Too young." His cheeks burned in shame.

Itachi stared at him expressionlessly. Then it seemed to click. "How young are we talking about here?"

"Well he was fifteen when we met-"

Itachi's eyes widened so much that Sasuke would have found it funny any other day. "He was WHAT?!"

"That's why I did-"

"You slept with a _fifteen_ year old?! You fell for a kid?!" Itachi screeched and rose from his chair violently. "What the HELL, Sasuke?"

"I didn't sleep with him!" he tried to defend himself and kept his hands out in front of him. "And he's not fifteen anymore, and I don't see him anymore, and he needed my help, and-"

Itachi held a hand up to stop his blabbering. He deflated a little after hearing what Sasuke said. "Okay. Okay, just- give me a minute. I'm sorry I know I just said you could trust me… But really? Fifteen? That's- it's quite…" Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "Sorry."

They faced each other awkwardly for a moment and then sat back down.

"It's okay. Not like I'm feeling too good about that part either."

Itachi seemed to have calmed down, considerably, but his expression was now grave. "What did his parents say to all this? Did they know?"

"He's an orphan."

"_You took advantage of an orphan_?" Itachi asked with a calm and dangerous voice.

"No I didn't. I just let him live here for a while-"

"He _lived_ here?"

"Well he was homeless when I met him-"

"What?" Itachi's voice was flat and he looked at Sasuke with disbelief. "Oh, Sasuke what have you gotten yourself into? Better start from an end and tell me the whole story. If you don't I'm going to fucking report you to the social services."

Sasuke sighed and still blushing horribly he began to talk.

"It all started on my way home from work when I ran him over-"

"SASUKE I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

* * *

/-/

Oh how I love Itachi. The scary and overprotective big brother finally got his spot in the story, yay!

Ugh, the first part of this chapter was depressing to write. Sorry for the lack of Naruto, but don't worry we get to see him in the next chapter.

Luckily I got some time on my hands so I have already written chapter 10. (But I won't give it to you guys, just yet :P )

Please let me know what you think of my story :) All constructive criticism is much appreciated, as I use it to improve.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Enjoy :)

* * *

Making Itachi calm down had taken a while. Telling the whole story had taken even longer. In the end Itachi decided not to report or kill him. They were brothers after all. He did hit him a couple of times before he left though.

Telling someone else had been hard. It was good to finally get it out, but it forced him to remember and go through everything that happened again. Remembering the good days was a bitter sweet experience.

Itachi had left an hour ago and Sasuke was now standing in the doorway to the guestroom.

_I'm never going to be able to forget you, am I?_

Admitting this to himself made some pieces inside him fall into place. There was just no way he could forget the blonde boy. If he had to be honest with himself he didn't want to either. The months with him had been some of the happiest in his grown up life. He just wished they could have lasted. He felt a burning longing inside of him, as embers lying dormant for very long, but still just as heated if not more. Though they had not been together, time had matured his feelings for Naruto. Now he allowed himself to see them for what they were. Not a silly little crush or an attraction. No, they were so much more.

_But he is just a kid. There's still four months till he's eighteen-_

All thought stopped. _Four months?_ How long had it been since he left him at the foster home? He counted on his fingers. A year and ten months.

_Maybe?_

Maybe it was time to get some closure.

* * *

_- Four months later -_

"Sasuke are you all right?"

"Huh? Yes of course Neji. Why do you ask?"

"Your tie is knotted wrong and you've been fidgeting for last thirty minutes." Neji said with a deadpan voice.

"Oh, it is, sorry." He untied and tied it again, not noticing that he made the same mistake. "Sorry, but what were we discussing?"

"If you are too distracted to focus on your work, you should take a day off." Neji snapped. Just because they had become friends it didn't mean Neji acted any less professional than before. He expected the same of Sasuke and had thought Sasuke would get out of gaga-land if he said something.

To his surprise the dark haired male got up and left.

"Yes, you're right I should go home…" he muttered as he opened the door.

What the..? They were in the middle of a meeting; he couldn't just leave like that. Neji sighed and let it go. No point in dragging him back when he was so out of it.

* * *

It was the tenth of October. Naruto's birthday. The day he would turn eighteen. Since society now deemed the young man fit to make his own decisions, Sasuke had decided to do so as well. So he was going to visit him. Today.

_Damn. Shit. Fuck. _

He had a tendency to curse when nervous.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck, what am I going to do? This is the worst idea ever. What am I going to say to him? Will he be mad? Or maybe he doesn't care much anymore?_

_I was just one of many to leave him behind. Fuck, that only makes it so much worse. He believed in me, I can't imagine how much it must have taken him to do so._

_No, he probably got over me. Maybe he has forgiven me? He might even be a little happy to see me? _

That last thought was crushed before it could spiral out of control. There was no need to get his hopes up.

He looked at the neatly wrapped present on the backseat as he got into the car. He was giving Naruto a phone since he wanted it to be something the boy might want to keep, even if his feelings towards Sasuke were less than pleasant. It was with a prepaid service plan for the next year. A gift too expensive to be thrown away, by a boy who had nothing. Or at least Sasuke hoped that was the case.

He got into the car, but it took some time before he turned the engine on. He was nervous to a point of numbness and he felt physically ill. How often hadn't he imagined doing just this? Driving to the foster home, where Naruto would be waiting for him. The blonde would sneak into his car, and they would drive off without ever looking back.

_Two years_. He had been a shadow of his former self for two whole years. Was he a coward for not visiting Naruto until this very last moment? Probably. Should he have acted differently? Maybe. Maybe not. He wished he knew.

He got the car in gear and left the parking lot. The drive there seemed much shorter than the other two times he had been there. Though it had been a long time ago he clearly remembered the route. He had dreamed of driving to the foster home, but the dream had ended before he got there. It had been a reoccurring dream, but he never made it all the way to the foster home. He always woke up with his heart pounding in his chest alone in his bed.

He passed the Konoha city sign. Then he drove into the forested area and at last arrived at that damned parking lot. He turned the engine off, but didn't make a move to get out. He tried breathing deeply, counting to ten, finding his 'happy place' and all that other crap.

None of it could calm him down.

His breathing was shallow and quick.

_Oh God, don't let me have a panic attack and faint like that freshman in high school…_

His hands clenched and unclenched around the steering wheel. He could hear the faint '_thump, thump_' of blood being pumped through his veins. Giving up on calming himself he opened the door and went out.

_I'm here earlier than planned. Maybe he's not even back from school yet. I wonder if Iruka will mind-_

His thoughts swirled around in his mind. He tried to concern himself with all the small worries that could be done something about. Not the big ones that were out of his hands.

He walked along the hedge and through the entrance gate in a trance. When the big building got into view he swallowed with difficulty. He kept walking until he was right in front of the door. Then he stared at the doorbell as if it was some kind of mystery.

A doorbell. It was such a homely thing, not something that fit in with his image of a foster home. Then he pressed it with shaking hands. He heard feet running towards the door from inside, and braced himself. He startled when the door was torn wide open.

A brown haired boy in his early teens stood in the door opening looking at him with curious eyes. He was given a once over and then the boy said with surprise:

"You're not the plumber."

"What? No, I'm not." He answered confused. "I'm here to see Naruto. Do you know wer-"

"Oh, the boss!" The boy said with a huge smile on his face. "Sure thing." The boy turned around and yelled up the stairs; "Naruto! NARUTO!"

"What is it Konohamaru?" A very, very familiar voiced yelled back and sent shivers down Sasuke's spine. It was deeper, but he recognized it.

_Oh God, I can't. It's been so long._

It hurt and pulled at him, and his heart wanted to leap up those stairs, but his legs wouldn't budge. He was shocked about, just how much of an effect it had on him to hear the blonde's voice again.

"There's someone here to see you!"

"What?! Who?"

Konohamaru sent him a quick glance and yelled back. "Office guy in a suit."

_Office guy?! I'm not some stranger you little shit! He knows me! Fuck I should have introduced myself-_

"Oh! Let him in, he must be a social worker." Then loud thumps were heard as Naruto ran down the stairs. When he came into view Sasuke's heart went into his throat.

"He's here to make sure tha-" The blonde stopped dead in his tracks halfway down and gaped. His hand gripped onto the stair railing tight enough to make his knuckles white and his eyes were comically wide.

"_Naruto._" Sasuke tried to smile, but his lips trembled. "I'm sorry that it's been so long, I just wanted to-"

He never got to finish his sentence, because the now full grown Naruto, stormed down the remaining steps and slammed right into him. He was held so tightly that it was impossible to breathe. Naruto buried his head in Sasuke neck breathed in sharply. Sasuke felt hands dig into his back, and brought his own arms around Naruto holding tightly.

He felt nothing but the warm body clinging to him for dear life. In that moment there was happiness so intense it was painful. This was how it should be. It was right.

_I'm never letting you go again. Never. I promise Naruto._

Naruto tried to silence small choked sobs by pressing his face to Sasuke's chest.

"It's all right." Sasuke whispered. "I'm sorry Naruto, I'm so sorry. I won't leave again."

At his words Naruto came back to his senses and pulled slightly away from him. Blue tear filled eyes stared at him for a moment. Then he felt a sharp pain in his right foot. "You left!" It was Naruto who stomped on it forcefully. "You goddamned bastard! Leaving me here, deciding everything On. Your. _Own_."

Each word was punctuated with a hit to his chest. Naruto held onto him, but kept hitting and cursing at him at the same time, while anger replaced the momentary shock and happiness. Sasuke felt a sense of vertigo and quickly came to the realization, that no, he had not been forgiven. Quite the contrary.

"What in the world is this ruckus going on out here!" A male voice yelled from another room and Iruka stormed in. "Naruto! What are you doing?!"

Iruka hurried over and tried to pull Naruto off Sasuke. A flicker of panic showed in the blue eyes and Naruto stopped hitting and clung onto Sasuke with all his strength instead. Confused but somewhat pleased at the change Sasuke brought his own arms around Naruto and held him. It reminded him a little too much of how they had parted ways, to be comfortable.

"No! don't you dare do this again!"

"I won't! I promise I won't, relax Naruto!"

Iruka stepped back, to give them some space and Naruto seemed to relax a little though he still had a death grip around his waist.

"I didn't come here today, just to up and leave again."

"Then why are you here? I thought- I dunno what I thought. But you didn't even come to see me. I was so sure that…" Naruto trailed off and hiccupped lightly again.

It tore at his heartstrings to see Naruto so upset, but he decided to dwell in happiness for another moment. Forgiven he may not be, but missed that was for sure.

But what had he come here for? He wanted closure, but expected to see Naruto living life just fine without him and most likely angry or indifferent towards him. Now a whole series of new possibilities opened up.

"I guess… I just wanted to see how you were doing. Wish you happy birthday. Say hi."

Naruto sniffled one last time and slowly loosened his grip. He kept a hold on Sasuke's shirt, as if to prevent him from running away. He blinked a few times with glassy eyes, looking a bit confused.

"You were just going to say hi? And then what?"

"Uhh well, I didn't really think that you would…" he made an unsure motion with his hands. "I wasn't sure you'd be happy to see me."

Naruto's eyes widened a little. "Oh."

Iruka cleared his throat next to them. "Do you want to continue this in my office?"

They suddenly became aware of not only Iruka and Konohamaru staring at them, but also about ten kids looking down from the stairs and peeking from the room next door. They both blushed and Naruto took his hand and let him through another door not occupied by curious bystanders.

Iruka followed and closed the door behind them. The foster care worker tried to look stern for a moment, but couldn't help smiling. Naruto might be loud and boisterous at times, but after Sasuke had left him at the foster home, Iruka had never seen him cry again. To see the youth express so much emotion again… He had no doubt about how much the raven haired man meant to him.

"Why don't I leave the two of you here for a few minutes so you can sort it out between you? I'm sure you have a lot to talk about after so long."

"Thank you Iruka."

The door closed with a click and they were left alone in the room. Together again after two long years. For a moment neither of them said anything, they simply looked at each other. Naruto had grown and was the same height as Sasuke now. His shoulders were wider, his jaw more square and the muscles on his bare arms more defined than before.

"You've grown up."

"Yeah, I guess I have." Naruto looked a little embarrassed at the comment as if not comfortable in his own skin yet. "You haven't changed much though."

"No I guess not."

Silence settled between them again. Questions were hanging in the air, but neither wanted to voice them out loud. They had been apart for so long and it would take more than a warm welcome to get them back where they left it off. There were so many things they both wanted to know, but were to start?

_Why did you leave Sasuke?_

_Why didn't you visit me?_

_Why are you really here now?_

_What is going to happen?_

_Can we go back..?_

It became decidedly awkward until Sasuke forced himself to break the silence with one of the 'safe' questions.

"So, what are you going to do, now that you're an adult?"

"Well Iruka says that I should finish high school, but I was thinking about getting a job."

"What kind of job?"

"Dunno. Construction work or some other manual labor, if I can't get anything else. It pays pretty well. I've also been trying to find a place to get an apprenticeship as a mechanic, but haven't got any luck so far." He shrugged and fidgeted.

Sasuke nodded. He was in no position to say anything about the boy's choices. He had given away that privilege a long time ago, if he had ever had it. He asked another less safe question;

"Where are you going to stay?"

"You know the apartment complex behind the old Town Market?"

_You mean the ghetto-like place in the worst part of town? Of course I know where it is, it's exactly where I would want you to be the least._

He couldn't help but cringe at the thought. Staying at the foster home or not, Naruto was still an orphan with no one to help him in life.

"Yes, I know that place."

"It's not that far, from where you work. Maybe… If you would be okay with it… I could come and eat lunch with you again some time?"

It was so horrible formal that both of them felt the urge to cringe. They had never been like this towards each other before; their relationship had been relaxed at most times, and only awkward at the end. Formal? No, just no. Sasuke was a little sad that Naruto felt he had to be careful around him now.

"You can have lunch with me any time Naruto. I know it's been a long time and that I wasn't really fair to you in the end… but I really hope that we can... I don't know, meet some times." He shrugged feeling unsure of what to say. "I missed you, you know."

Naruto swallowed heavily and looked down at his feet. "Yeah, well, I was kinda pissed off at you to be honest." He laughed nervously.

"Nothing new there. I think the two of us are pretty good at getting at each others' nerves. bBut I definitely deserved it this time around." Sasuke said with a smile, feeling how they slowly got back to their usual banter. He put his hands in his pockets and pulled them out again. It was hard to keep still, when all he wanted to do was to bring the young man back in his arms.

"I was actually about to pack all my stuff, when you came…"

"Oh."

"Yeah I should probably get it done; I need to clean up and be outta here by five." The blonde began walking towards the door. "Iruka is going to be back any minute no-"

Sasuke grabbed a hold of his arm. He had learned the hard way that always waiting for the next opportunity wasn't always the wisest choice.

"Naruto." Their eyes met and Sasuke saw how Naruto inhaled sharply. "You can always come and stay with me again."

Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but Sasuke nervously kept talking; "Only if you want to of course, I'm not implying that you can't take care of yourself or anything like that. Even if it's just for a short time, until you find a place to work or-"

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Sasuke let go of him as if burned. Then he nodded slowly. "Okay. Sorry, I don't know why I'd assume-"

"_Sasuke_." Naruto stopped him from going into another rant. "I was mad at you. But only for a while."

Naruto let his fingers run through his blonde hair and his gaze fell to the ground again.

"I- I missed you too, you know. If we started living together just like that … You already made it clear that you didn't want it to be that way between us and I can't promise I wouldn't want…" His cheeks heated. "I can't promise that I wouldn't want… more."

* * *

/-/

Chapter 11 and half of chapter 12 is already written, but before I can continue writing there's something I need to know. Will anyone object to this story going from T-rated to M?

I don't know if I should just let things go their way, or blank out some of it, and write a short sequel instead.

?


	11. Chapter 11

I asked you guys about the M-rating... Was I surprised about the answer? No. (Let's be honest, that's probably what most of us are searching for on this site xD) It won't be in this chapter though, and I t will fit in nicely with the rest of the story. I felt I had to ask to make sure I didn't ruin someone's experience with the story, because it has been more of a cute/light story so far rather than a sexy/dark one.

I want to thank everyone who gave me feedback, reading your reviews gives me inspiration :)

Enjoy!

* * *

_"I can't promise that I wouldn't want… more."_

Those words short circuited Sasuke's brain.

_There's no way… After everything, he still… I'm the luckiest fucking bastard on earth!_

His whole body hummed with happiness. He took a hold of Naruto's hand and pulled him closer. Not only had he been missed and welcomed back, miraculously his feelings were still returned as well. There was nothing holding him back anymore. Naruto would always be younger than him, but he was an adult now in every sense of the word. He placed his other hand on Naruto's neck and took a step closer, so that they were standing chest to chest.

"Sasuke if this is some sick kinda joke, I swear to god-" Naruto hissed looking panicked.

He leaned in and pecked Naruto on the lips softly.

"It's not." He had to go in for another quick kiss. Naruto's lips were just so soft and alluring, he couldn't help himself. "I promise." He almost laughed when he saw how wide eyed the boy had gone.

"Close your eyes." He whispered and pressed his lips against Naruto's again, this time a little harder. The blonde let out a whimper and melted in his arms. He felt one of Naruto's hands travel up his chest while the other gripped his own tightly. Their fingers intertwined and a thrilling rush went through Sasuke. He let his tongue rung along Naruto's bottom lip and a timid tongue met his own. His fingers ran trough incredibly soft blonde hair and he pulled, to get even closer, to get _more_.

Sasuke just wanted to _devour _him_-_

"Naruto, Temari is here to see you one last time before you leave tonight." Iruka said as he stepped in the door. The two of them tore apart quickly and prayed themselves lucky to see that Iruka's eyes were on a file in his hand, not on them.

The foster home leader shifted his glance to look at them. His eyes went from Naruto to Sasuke and back again. "Are you two good again?" He asked with a small frown between his brows as he took in the sight of them. Didn't they look a little flushed and disheveled?

"Yes, we're fine thank you." Sasuke said and grabbed for Naruto's hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.

"Naruto she's waiting for you in the entry hall."

Sasuke sent Naruto a questioning look.

"She's one of the social workers keeping track of me. She's nice enough." Naruto said then leaned in and added in a whisper; "We should probably not tell Iruka about this. He'll hunt you down and kill you."

_Oh goodie, another protective "Big brother" to put on my list, as if one isn't enough_. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

From there on everything seemed to happen in a blur. Naruto spoke with Temari for a few minutes and then hurried upstairs to pack. Sasuke wanted to follow, but was stopped by her. She had apparently just been informed about Naruto's sudden change of plans concerning his living arrangements, and was interrogating Sasuke about the details. Sasuke was thrilled to hear about Naruto's decision, and his head was in the clouds when answering her questions. He could not have recalled a single questions afterwards, even if his life had depended on it.

Sasuke was not a patient man. The fact that he had been missing Naruto in his life for two years, made it difficult for him to not just scoop the blonde up in his arms, and drive away with him, now that everything had been settled. He wanted to kiss the younger man again, preferably _now_. Pull him close and feel the other's heat and quick heartbeat against his body.

He could see the same impatience reflected in blue eyes, but Naruto had things to do before leaving. He had to talk with Temari again, talk with Iruka, run up the stairs to pack one last thing and most of all, he had to say goodbye. Sasuke saw the blue eyes fill with tears as a Konohamaru and a bunch of other kids hugged him. He went up to Naruto's room to give him a private moment to say goodbye.

There were two beds in the room and all of Naruto's belongings were once again stuffed in a couple of black plastic bags. It brought back painful memories, and Sasuke marveled at how Naruto had it in him to forgive everything. Sasuke had abandoned him without as much as a proper goodbye, but Naruto had deemed it safe to trust him again and come back and live with him. How was it possible?

It pained him to have been apart for so long, to not know how Naruto had lived these past two years, except for the occasional update from Iruka. The urge to be at his side became too overwhelming to bear, and Sasuke lifted the bags and hurried down the stairs.

More kids had gathered around Naruto and many of them looked sad or were crying. Tears went down the scarred cheeks as well. Sasuke wanted to comfort him, but knew at the same time that Naruto hurt because he had to leave. With didn't want Naruto to hurt anymore, but it also made him happy to see how loved the young man was. He might have left him alone at the foster home two years ago, but it was obvious that Naruto had made a lot of friends since then.

Naruto caught his eye and smiled through the tears. "I'll miss you guys too, but, hey, I'll come back and visit all the time, okay?" he said to them. "I promise."

Sasuke went to stand by his side and put a comforting hand on his back. The very last goodbyes were said and Sasuke expressed his gratitude to Iruka. It meant the world to him that he had been able to leave Naruto in a safe place with people who cared. Not only that; Naruto was no longer a runaway kid avoiding the authorities, which relieved him immensely.

The other teens and kids insisted on helping with the luggage and followed them all the way back to the car. Naruto sniffled when the other kids left and Sasuke brought him into a close hug. The sniffles turned to straight out sobs and Naruto clung to him for dear life. Sasuke held him tightly and pressed his lips to the unruly blond hair. The sobs died down quickly and were replaced by small hiccupping laughs. Black bewildered eyes stares at Naruto.

_What the…?_

Blue still teary eyes looked at him filled with happiness and a smile shone brightly to match. Naruto pulled him in for a bruising kiss. Surprised, but pleased Sasuke responded eagerly and felt Naruto's smile on his lips.

"I've got you now." Naruto whispered in between kisses.

"Mmm" Sasuke didn't even bother to pull away from the kiss to respond, but simply hummed in confirmation.

"Don't you dare leave again. _Ever_."

Sasuke grabbed hold of Naruto's jaw and tilted his face to gain more access. He believed his actions spoke louder than any words could at the moment. Never had he wanted someone so badly-

"_Sasuke._"

Apparently Naruto did not agree with this and tugged at his hair hard enough to break them apart.

"I won't leave you." He said and kissed the tanned jaw. He littered small kisses all the way up to his ear and said in a low rumble; "I don't think I could, even if I tried."

Naruto let out a shaky breath at feeling the warm breath on his skin. "You better not, or I'll tell on you to Iruka and Temari and-"

Sasuke shut him up with another kiss.

Both of them were emotionally exhausted, Naruto even more so since his whole life had suddenly been turned upside down. They held hands the entire way back in the car, and though exhausted, Sasuke felt lighter than he ever had before. An almost childish excitement filled him to the brim, and bubbled over in sparks of happiness. He had to school his features to keep a deranged smile from his face.

They entered the apartment in silence and Naruto let go of the bags in the exact same spot he had left them so long ago, when he had been there the first time. He proceeded to explore the place and ended back in the living room looking thoughtful.

"There's no room for my stuff in your room, so I guess it'll have to go in my old room." He made a displeased noise at this.

"What do you mean? The guestroom will be yours again, why would you need more space?" Sasuke asked a little confused. Naruto gave him a long stare and made another noise. It looked like Naruto was about to say something, but then his cheeks turned pink and he paused, seemingly rethinking his words.

"Sasuke, you are an idiot." He murmured and pulled his bags into the guestroom.

_What did I do? Why would he want his things in my room? There's no reason to change from how it used to be- Oh. Oh, wait. No, did he mean..? Oh._

Sasuke felt his cheeks heat up as he realized what exactly it was that Naruto wanted. He wanted to share a room. And a room was probably not the only thing he'd want to share. Sasuke felt like an idiot for not thinking about it before. Kissing was one thing, but his brain had conveniently forgotten what came as the next step. Now it was not only his cheeks that got a little hot, his whole body heated up, and he was pretty sure he looked like a boiled lobster.

_Fuck, this is embarrassing. I'm twenty-nine for god's sake; I know what a relationship entails. And I-I want to… to do more with him, it's just so… _

Sasuke, who had never been in love before, was assaulted by all the feelings it brought with it. Want. Uncertainty. Embarrassment. Happiness. Excitement. It was a big mix of emotions he wasn't used to dealing with. He fidgeted for a moment more, but Want won over the others as Naruto stepped back into the living room. He didn't need the blonde to be uncertain of their new relationship or mad at him for not sharing a room.

Naruto saw the way he was looking at him and stared back looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Sasuke?"

The blue eyes widened as he was pulled into yet another kiss. So warm and soft, but firm at the same time. Sasuke explored the wet heat to the fullest to see what made Naruto squirm and gasp. He could hear Naruto suck in a breath, when he kissed his neck.

It was _just right_.

* * *

/-/

That first day of their reunion was spent exploring the art of kissing. They ordered take out for dinner, because neither of them could be bothered to be apart for long enough to cook. When they went to bed Naruto snuck into Sasuke's bed, and after a moment of hesitation, Sasuke pulled him close. They could not resist kissing again, but both of them were drained of energy and soon drifted off to sleep.

/-/

* * *

Sasuke felt pleasantly warm and relaxed when he woke up the next morning. The knowledge that Naruto was there with him gave him a sense of fulfillment. He just lay there and felt the early rays of the sun touch his skin before he bothered to open his eyes. His arm reached out for Naruto, but found nothing. It took a while for his brain to process that he was the only one in the bed.

He heard a clattering noise from the kitchen. A quick glance at his alarm told him, it was half past seven. It was unusual for Naruto to be up and about before him. He lazily turned over on his stomach and inhaled the scent of the younger male on his sheets.

_I should get up and get ready for work. But I just got Naruto back… I don't have any meetings this morning, and I have worked so much these past two years… no one would say anything if I showed up a little later, would they? Just an hour or two._

Sasuke enjoyed his little fantasy of staying in bed with Naruto instead of getting up, for a few minutes.

_Screw it. I can take the whole day off._

Very pleased with his decision he crawled out of bed to find Naruto. He felt playful and wanted to sneak up on Naruto in the kitchen, but he was not a very good ninja and was noticed the moment he stepped into the room.

"Mworning Sfaske." Naruto mumbled with a whole piece of toast in his mouth, a cup in one hand and a plate in the other.

"Morning." Sasuke gave him a once over. "Up and dressed so early, what's the occasion?" he asked wonderingly.

Naruto swallowed his bite of toast and put the rest back on the plate. "Uh, normal weekday. I'm going to school."

Sasuke's brilliant mood deflated a little as his plan went down the drain. "I thought you didn't want to go anymore?"

"I'll keep going until I find a job, at least." The blue eyes looked at the clock on the wall. "I've gotta go now, it's gonna take me a while to walk there." He said and drank the last coffee in his cup.

Sasuke stared bewildered at him while he put his sneakers on.

_He's leaving? Just like that?_

"Uh, okay I guess. When will you be back?"

"Hmm, around four, I think? No wait Kiba has a match and I promised to go and watch it, so fiveish."

He put his backpack on and Sasuke's sleep muddled brain finally awoke. "Wait I need o give you something, give me a second."

He ran back into his room and found the same spare key that Naruto had once had. He handed it over and squeezed Naruto's hand at the same time. The blue eyes widened a little, and Naruto glanced at him shyly. It was like they had taken a step backwards during the night, now that the urgent need from yesterday had been satisfied. The realization that they really were together, settled in both of them.

Naruto leaned in for a quick peck, nothing like the passionate kisses they had shared the evening before.

"Goodbye kiss." He mumbled and turned to leave.

_Oh no, don't think you can get away with just that. _

Sasuke grabbed his arm and, turned him around and put his other hand on the door to keep it closed. He moved closer very slowly, eyeing Naruto as if he was his prey. He pressed the younger male against the door with his body and leaned in for a _proper_ kiss. He let his lips linger just short of touching Naruto's and enjoyed the way the blonde stopped breathing for a moment and eyes focused on him in anticipation.

He bit the blonde's bottom lip to tease and then went for the kill. He started out painfully slow, but did not have enough control over himself to keep it that way.

Naruto's cheeks and lips were red and his normally unruly hair was sticking up in all directions when Sasuke finally let him leave. Sasuke himself was in no better condition, the only difference being that he looked smug instead of thoroughly embarrassed.

_A nice way to start the day, if I have to say so myself..._

_Wait a minute. Who is Kiba?_

* * *

Sasuke ate lunch with his usual group of colleagues since Naruto was at school, and their schedules didn't match up for lunch break. The school was closer to the foster home than his apartment, so Naruto wouldn't have had time anyway. He had been awfully distracted the day before as well, sand Neji was keeping an eye on him.

Today was even worse though. Yesterday he had been a nervous wreck; today he was in the seventh heaven. Thoughts of Naruto kept distracting him from work, and he caught himself wearing a silly smile thrice, just this morning. Neji had asked him if he had solved the problem, since he no longer seemed distressed. Sasuke's answer might have been a bit too chipper, since Neji had sent him a concerned look afterwards.

But while Neji was polite and didn't pry in things that were none of his business, the same could not be said about Ino. Her female intuition immediately told her something was up, when she saw Sasuke staring off in the distance dreamily. She snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention. "Back to earth Uchiha."

"What?"

"What has got you off in dreamland?"

"Nothing." Sasuke replied a little too fast.

Ino studied him with narrowed eyes. "No. Noooo. No way!" Her eyes filled with glee and her lips turned into a shit eating grin. "You got laid."

Sasuke froze. Got laid? What was she talking about, he and Naruto hadn't… Of course they were going to at some point… Oh no, oncoming blushing in three, two, one...

"No."

"Don't lie to me with that hickey on your neck." She said and laughed hysterically when Sasuke's hand flew up to the offending body part. When had Naruto given him a hickey? Shit, now everyone at the table stared at him. Kankuro whistled. "Who's the lucky lady?" Ugh, he had always been the crudest in the group. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but didn't react otherwise. Shino politely told him "Congratulations" which was almost more embarrassing than being asked about his exploits.

Neji, whom he respected the most in the group, looked at him with an unreadable expression. Sasuke felt like finding a dark place to hide in. He was self confident and didn't care much about what others thought of him, but that was mostly because he knew, he did everything perfectly. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Potentially revealing his eleven year younger male, orphan, boyfriend… that was embarrassing. Not because he was embarrassed about Naruto, no he was embarrassed about himself. Expectations were high, when you crawled up the career ladder as far as he had. To let them know that he was head over heels and acting like a lovesick teenage girl, _that_ was the embarrassing part.

He was supposed to be a mature adult, who had full control over both his professional and personal life. He looked at Neji uncomfortably. The other man had to know, that this was the reason for his odd behavior these past few days.

Neji's face twitched. Not just his eye or lip, no it was a full on face twitch. He put up a pale hand to cover his mouth and looked down, trying to hide behind his long hair. But he couldn't hide it.

"Pffft.."

His shoulders were shaking because of the repressed laughter and he banged his fist against the table. Sasuke gaped; he had never seen Neji laugh; barely crack a smile to be honest.

At last the long haired male gave up and laughed so hard that he cried. A lovesick Uchiha. That was fucking priceless.

* * *

End of chapter 11

Chapter twelve is on it's way and will be ready for you guys in 4-5 days. It has been through some heavy editing already, since it's my first attempt at writing anything smexy. (As if 4 years of being a yaoi fan didn't prepare me for this...)

To be honest I don't know when to end this story. It was supposed to end shortly after the reunion when I first started writing it, but there are just so many funny scenarios I want to write!

One of them will be be in chapter 13, which is already more than halfway done, yay me!


	12. Chapter 12

My first attempt at anything M-rated... It wasn't as easy as I thought it would have been, but it's written and I'm not going to chance it. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it :)

* * *

The shyness always presented itself at odd times. The last few days both of them had been living on a pink cloud, and when they weren't at work and school they were busy with each other. They kissed all the time and sometimes a stray hand found itself under the hem of a shirt or in one case on Naruto's butt. They had yet to figure out their limits towards each other, which meant that they sometimes accidentally crossed them.

Like now, for instance. Naruto was in the shower and Sasuke had just gotten the clean towels from the dryer. He assumed it was fine to just walk in; they were so close, and he was just going to put the towels in the cupboard then leave. No harm done. Or so he thought.

Sasuke took his socks off to avoid getting them wet and went in with the towels in one arm. He was met with a high pitched girly scream.

"Sasuke, what are you doing! I'm in the shower! " Naruto screeched and tried to cover behind the almost see through shower curtain. "Get out! Pervert! I'm naked! Out!"

Sasuke got so surprised that he nearly slipped on the wet floor. He grabbed for the sink with his free hand to prevent himself from falling on his ass.

"What in the world Naruto!" He exclaimed. "You're a guy; it doesn't matter if I see you naked."

Naruto spluttered and his face turned tomato red. "It does so!"

Sasuke blinked confused. "Why?" He proceeded to openly watch the other man. "Not like you have anything to be embarrassed about." He said appreciating the view. Naruto had grown to become a handsome man, tanned and with clearly defined muscles.

"You pervert! Stop ogling me!"

"Naruto, I'm telling you, you have nothing to be shy about-"

"GET OUT!"

Sasuke got the message when a bar of soap was hurled after him.

* * *

Sasuke didn't really get why Naruto was shy about being naked in front of him. If he had approached him when they first met, it would have been understandable, being in the middle of puberty and everything, but he was all grown up now. What was the big deal?

Was it the age difference? The difference in experience? No matter the reason, he decided to get rid of this shyness of Naruto's. It would do him no good to freak out when they started taking things… further.

That night they went to bed early, not because they were tired, but because the bed was a nice place to do certain activities. Sasuke didn't remember ever being playful with any of his earlier encounters, but he certainly was with the blonde. They play wrestled in the bed, kissed and fought again. Sasuke found all Naruto's ticklish spots and abused them until the blonde was laughing so hard he was gasping for air.

The older male was quite satisfied about his current position, sitting on Naruto's lower back with his hands on the other's sides. Naruto's shirt had already ridden up halfway on his back, and it gave Sasuke an idea. He moved to sit on Naruto's thighs instead and bent down to kiss the revealed skin. He felt the air leave the body under him and a smug smile formed on his face.

He pushed his lips against the skin again and let the tip of his tongue taste the salty skin in the dip of the spine. Naruto gasped, but didn't protest. He kissed a little higher up this time, his nose pushing the offending piece of cloth out of the way. Small kisses made their way up to Naruto's neck and when the shirt had been pushed up as far as possible he kissed behind the ear.

A small chuckle left Naruto as Sasuke's hands began to caress his sides. The boy was too ticklish for his own good. Sasuke sucked on his neck, marking the blonde with hickeys as his hands traveled further up. When they reached the shirt, Sasuke was convinced he had the younger male distracted enough to follow up on his idea.

He flipped Naruto over and kissed him senseless only stopping to pull the shirt over his head. Naruto's noise of protest was silenced when Sasuke's lips found his again. Naruto quickly forgot why he protested in the first place

Shirt off. Pants were the next step in his plan. But maybe later, first he had to explore the bare skin of Naruto's torso. For the first time he let his hands wander freely and relished in the feel of hot skin shivering under his fingers. Naruto's hands stumbled their way over Sasuke's chest and back while he tried to maintain his sanity at the same time. He was panting when Sasuke finally gave him a chance to breathe.

Their eyes met and Sasuke could see the hint of vulnerability and uncertainty Naruto tried hard to hide. He let his hands slide all the way from neck, across heaving chest and down to the waistband of Naruto's pants. His eyes followed the movement intently as hands travelled their way up again.

Naruto looked about ready to explode of embarrassment, his face was so red.

"Naruto" Sasuke said with a hoarse voice. "You're beautiful."

Sasuke wanted to knock it into his head that there was no reason to be shy, but his words seemed to have the opposite effect. Naruto had his eyes clenched shut and his hands gripped the material of Sasuke's shirt tightly.

Sasuke sighed feeling guilty for pushing the younger man. He was pretty sure that he was Naruto's first, now that he thought about it, so maybe he should cut him some slack. The last thing he wanted to do was scare him away.

Naruto really tried. He swallowed and forced himself to face Sasuke. "I'm not, you know, used to do stuff like this." His hands flailed as he tried to explain. "I haven't really like, done… stuff… yet. So yeah, just-just give me a second."

Sasuke wasn't exactly used to dealing with inexperienced virgins and was intrigued and confused at the same time. He loved how Naruto reacted whenever he tried something new, but he also had a hard time figuring out when to stop. If he left the decision making to his body, poor Naruto would have been deflowered within the first day. Thank goodness he had his mind to take control, when needed.

"It's fine." He said and let his hands run through the golden hair. He gently pecked Naruto on the cheek. A need to protect him overflowed, and he held him close. "Do you want me to turn off the light?"

"Can we..?"

"Sure thing"

He reached out and turned off the nightstand lamp and moved back to take Naruto in his arms.

* * *

He began to kiss him again, but Naruto lay stiff and uncomfortably still. The blonde's arms were in between them and his legs were crossed. Sasuke frowned at the weird position and tried to get them into a more comfortable one, but Naruto refused to budge.

_What is he doing? Everything went well why is he suddenly-_

Sasuke's thought process came to an abrupt halt. _Crossed legs?_

In one smooth slide his hand found its way to Naruto's crotch

"Ahh!" Naruto tried to cover his privates, but his suspicions had already been confirmed. Naruto was hard as a rock.

_Ah, that's what this is all about._

"I'm sorry! It just happened!" Naruto rambled "It's because you took of my shirt and- Shit!"

Sasuke had let his palm rub against the bulge again. "Don't apologize"

"But, I mean, are you sure you want to?"

_Wow, wow, wow, wait a minute there. Isn't this the wrong way around? He's the virgin; I should be the one asking him that!_

"The last time we discussed this, you weren't exactly positive about the idea and, so, yeah, I dunno, just figured that… Uhm , maybe you weren't really cool with it. I'm still younger than you, and that was kinda the problem to begin with- Ahh! Stop doing that when I'm trying to- nnngh say something."

Sasuke removed his hand and looked Naruto in the eye. "Naruto, it has been two years since then. That changes a lot. Do you really think I would do all this, and then stop, when you wanted more?"

"Uhhh maybe?"

"Is this why you wanted me to turn the light off? So I wouldn't notice?"

The silence was answer enough in itself. Sasuke sighed in exasperation. Naruto could really be dense sometimes, adorable, but awfully dense. He would have laughed if it wasn't because he knew he was the one to blame for Naruto's insecurities.

"I _really_ don't mind." He let one hand travel down Naruto's back and over his hip. Blue half lidded eyes stared back and his own and when his hand daringly slid over Naruto's butt, the blonde drew in a sharp breath through his nose. Sasuke pulled closer and pressed his thigh in between tanned legs. He had gotten aroused too as soon as he had felt Naruto's… excitement, and there was no way Naruto didn't notice in this position.

Sasuke brought him in for another kiss and rolled his hips agonizingly slow against the blonde's. He felt Naruto almost whimper in his mouth.

Listening to the other's sounds of pleasure while he continued his ministrations turned him on more than he would ever have thought. Pleasing Naruto satisfied him in a way he had never tried before. Now it was only a question about how to do it best. There were too many things he wanted to try at once, probably enough to keep them both entertained for months. He wanted to see Naruto react to him; find all the spots that pleased him the most.

His free hand found its way to a pert nipple and pinched it. Naruto gasped into their kiss and he repeated the action. He continued abusing the bud, until Naruto suddenly showed his hand away.

"Stop _doing_ that bastard!" Naruto hissed at him. Sasuke was totally floored, he had genuinely thought Naruto liked it, but that was obviously not the case. He had never questioned his techniques before, since none of his former partners had complained. A hard pinch to his own nipple brought his attention back and he flinched slightly in pain. "See, that hurts, so don't." Naruto scolded him.

"Sorry." He was momentarily embarrassed about his own ineptitude, but quickly recovered. He didn't want Naruto write is off as a bad thing and decided to take a different approach. "Let me try something else." He whispered directly into his ear and brought his lips down to Naruto's collarbone. He let them trail further down until they were right next to the reddened and stiff bud.

Even in the darkness he could see the skeptic frown on Naruto's face. Hopefully this attempt would be better received and to his own surprise Sasuke didn't mind working for it. He wasn't used to a challenge like this, but it peeked his curiosity more than what was probably healthy. Their eyes locked he stuck out his tongue to gently tease and smiled smugly when he saw Naruto's eyes widen and breath hitch. "Better?" he asked as if he didn't already know the answer.

"N-no-no it tickles too much now." Naruto murmured and tried to push him away again. Sasuke saw through the lie immediately; Naruto was just embarrassed.

"Oh does it now?"

"Y-yeah so don- oh _shit_. _Sasuke_." A light suck on the sensitive nipple and thigh rubbing against his crotch again was all it took to get Naruto to turn into a puddle in his arms. It didn't take long before _both_ of them were panting and rubbing against each other, like a couple of hormone driven teenagers.

_Oh wait he is actually still a teenager- Fuck it .I don't care anymore, these pants needs to get off right now!_

Patience, maturity and experience vanished into thin air and the tell tale sound of a zipper being pulled down was loud between them. Sasuke was scared that he might have gone a little too fast and halted in his movement, but Naruto bucked into his hands and made an impatient sound. Yep, all patience and maturity went right out the window once again.

He tried to focus on pleasuring the younger man, but could no longer contain himself when he felt a pair of hands fumble with his own zipper. Neither bothered to even pull their pants any lower than their thighs, and Naruto forcefully pulled him up so they could kiss again, while their hands moved at each others' arousals. The kiss was rough and wilder than any they had shared before, making them both breathless. Sasuke caressed, pulled and pushed, licked and bit, too eager to maintain levelheaded, and Naruto responded fiercely enough to give him competition.

Their rhythm was off, and Sasuke grunted in frustration, knowing how good it would feel to move in sync with his blonde counterpart. He pulled away for a second to shift, but Naruto clawed at his back, almost growling to show, that pulling away was _not _an option.

"Demanding aren't we?" Sasuke wheezed out in between pants.

"Just- _fuck_- you can't stop." Naruto half pleaded half ordered. "Don't stop! Seriously- _Aah! I'm-I…_ I'm gonna _kill_ you if you _stop_!"

Sasuke snorted at the threat and gave not so gentle squeeze to Naruto's lower parts. He smiled in satisfaction when he felt abdominal muscles tighten against his arm and heard Naruto moan.

If pulling didn't work, pushing would have to do, so Sasuke pushed himself on top of the younger man, not breaking away from their touch. He leaned on one forearm to take his full weight of the smaller man and pressed their hips together repeatedly until Naruto mimicked him and their motions finally mirrored each other.

They touched with rough and quick strokes, too far into it to muster any attempt at control and Sasuke could feel that Naruto was close. Their movements became erratic and faster until neither of them could hold it in anymore. A violent shudder went through Naruto and his yell was silenced by Sasuke mouth as he also went over the edge.

All their muscles went lax and Naruto slowly stilled in Sasuke's arms, still trying to catch his breath. The afterglow left them warm and pleasantly tired. Sasuke slowly rolled off of Naruto, but didn't pull away from him. Tanned and pale legs intertwined and messy blond hair came to rest on his upper arm.

The last thing he saw before he drifted off was Naruto's goofy smile. He closed his eyes and kissed it.

* * *

_So much for being a mature adult in control of myself. So much for doing the right thing all the time. Where did all this go last night?_

He had thought that he would approach the subject gently, letting Naruto initiate some things and take the lead in others. He would teach the youth how to go about pleasing one another ,and of course be in full control of himself the entire time.

The expectations and reality seemed to be rather far apart at the moment. He had pretty much lost himself to the youth and his ego got a crack from how immature he had been. Not only had he acted like a teenager, his body had as well. For Naruto to finish so fast was understandable. He had no experience and probably hadn't had much time to do anything on his own, since privacy must have been a rare luxury at the foster home. But for Sasuke, a full grown man with experience… it was just outright embarrassing.

They hadn't even cleaned up afterwards, for crying out loud.

Waking up next to a warm body, without having to feel guilty or ashamed about it, was a very pleasant way to start the day though.

He was contently looking at the body cuddled up next to him. Sasuke wasn't a cuddler. Never in his life had he enjoyed being close to another body in this way, it was too hot and stuffy, and most time both parties would be sweating due to earlier exercises. With Naruto… he could tolerate it. If nothing else, then just to give the other a few more minutes to sleep, he told himself. Too bad their daily duties were calling and they had to get up.

Naruto was drowsy and almost had to be dragged out of the bed. Sasuke studied him intently while they ate breakfast. This messy haired, half asleep creature with puffy eyes from sleeping and wrinkles on his cheek from lying with his face on the sheet. This person had turned his life upside down.

"And here I thought I would have to treat you like a blushing maiden…"

Naruto spluttered, finally waking up fully. "I'm a guy!" He sounded rather insulted at the prospect of being compared to an innocent girl. "_Bastard_"

Sasuke's gaze went below belt high and stayed there. "Oh, I'm quite aware." He drawled. "Hard not to notice after last night."

Naruto gaped at him and went bright red. "You- you! You can't just say shit like that!"

_At least the blushing part fits now_

"Hn, why not?"

"Because! And stop leering at me!"

"Again, why not? After last night you shouldn't be embarrassed about-"

"La La La I can't hear you!" Naruto sang and went over to put his bowl in the dishwasher.

"So you can easily say what you desire in the heat of the moment, but gets your panties in a knot about it afterwards." Sasuke noted with raised eyebrows. "Interesting. Maybe I can use this to my advantage…" A smirk played on his lips at the thought.

A flash of alarm passed through Naruto's blue eyes. "La La-can't hear you-La La-" He continued and sprinted for the bathroom. The door slammed shut behind him, but Sasuke wasn't deterred in the least. The idiot had teased him about being uptight too many times to count. Payback time was long overdue. He waited for the shower to start, then slowly rose from his chair and went to stand by the bathroom door.

"So, Naruto." He started with his most sultry voice."About last night…"

"Would you stop it!"

"You were quite cute pretending to be ticklish when-"

They door tore open and an enraged and very naked Naruto shoved his hand over Sasuke's mouth. The blonde's expression faltered when he felt the lips touching his palm turn into a small smile. Then he realized how Sasuke was giving him a once over, and of course his own state of undress.

Sasuke did something he never would have seen himself doing in a thousand years and licked Naruto's palm teasingly. The other man really brought unknown sides of him out in the open. Naruto squeaked and pulled his hand back quickly, but not quick enough. Sasuke had grabbed him around the waist with both arms. "Got over being naked in front of me now?"

"Wha? No! Arrg this is not fair!" Naruto yelled and tried to get back in safety behind the bathroom door.

Further protests were stopped with a deep kiss. Those kisses seemed to work fairly well as a distraction Sasuke thought amused. The both of them were a little dazed when they pulled away with a noisy smack of lips. Unfortunately Naruto recovered faster than Sasuke and slid out of his hold. A door was slammed in the raven's face not a second later.

_Damn, stupid distraction goes both ways. I'll have to be careful with that one._

* * *

I'm trying to finish this story before homework kills me (which might be soon, cause I have 11 hours of reports to hand in next week)

Therefore I have been quite productive this weekend and have already written chapter 13, 14 and part of chapter 15. Expect 4-5 days in between each chapter as usual. After all, I want to make sure they're not filled with mistakes before they're read.

Constructive criticism or your opinion about the story is very welcome and much appreciated! :)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13! More than 5000 views :D

Enjoy!

* * *

They sat on the couch, Naruto cuddled up to Sasuke's side. They were waiting for the commercials to end and Naruto was barely staying awake, insistent on watching the movie to the end. Sasuke had to "_tolerate"_ a whole lot of cuddling these days. It was getting hard to resist it to be honest. But Sasuke wasn't always honest with himself.

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto mumbled tiredly.

"Hn?"

"I just thought about something…"

When no elaboration followed, Sasuke thought the younger male had really fallen asleep.

"You know how I don't have any family left?"

The older man's ears perked up at this and he became fully alert. It was a subject that had gone absolutely untouched in all their conversations. It was a sore spot for both of them and he had not counted on Naruto to bring it up.

"Yes, I know."

"Well… what about _you_?"

"You mean my family?"

"Yeah. Like do you have siblings? What are your parents like and stuff?"

"I have a brother. No parents."

Naruto sat up abruptly and looked at him as if it hurt to hear."You don't?! But… you're not that old!"

"Tsk, thank you. And no I don't, they died in when I was seven."

"I'm sorry." Naruto said and hugged him tightly. Sasuke didn't really know how to respond; the death of his parents had happened more than twenty years ago, and it had become a shadow in his past he rarely thought about willingly. To be comforted by an orphan, no, to be comforted at all, felt weird now.

"Don't be silly, it's so long ago…" he grumbled.

"I know. But it can still hurt. Not having parents can be tough."

Sasuke figured Naruto would know even better than him, and they stayed silent for a while. The younger man was pressed so close to him that he was basically sitting in his lap. He hoped that Naruto would open up to him and tell him everything one day, but wouldn't dig out painful memories if the blonde didn't want to.

"So… what about your brother?"

"What about my brother? He is my big brother."

"What is he like? How old is he? Is he a lot like you? Does he come over often?"

"He's normal I guess? A little overprotective at times though. He's five years older than me, but he lives far away and only comes over for the holidays."

"Oh I see…"

"What is it?"

"So he's gonna be here for Christmas."

Christmas was a little more than two months away. He hadn't really thought about that one yet, but figured he would call Itachi at some point and update him on the situation, so that he would have some time to cool down before they met. He should probably call him tomorrow, for his own sake. The sooner the better.

"Uhm should I… Uh" Naruto fidgeted and sounded a little unsure if himself. "Maybe I can ask Kiba if I can stay with his family during the holidays…"

"What?! Why? And who is this Kiba person anyway?"

"Oh! Oh I haven't told you about Kiba? Dude he has the coolest home ever and he is my best friend! His dog's name is Akamaru and it's _huge_! His mom always lets me stay over, and he has all the new Xbox games-"

Sasuke felt his jaw tense with annoyance. What was this feeling rumbling in him?

"And we spent like almost every day together this summer, 'cause they couldn't leave their home, because, get this; he lives in a friggin dog kennel! So there are dogs everywhere, and they had three litters of puppies to take care of and, Oh my god, it was so funny." Naruto laughed at some memory Sasuke clearly wasn't a part of, obviously haven forgotten everything about the other question.

"I get it. He's your best friend and you want to spend the holidays at his house." He said with a sour voice.

"Huh? No, that's not it. I just figured that it wasn't the best idea to stay here. I mean if your brother's gonna stick around the whole time, there no way he won't notice me living here, right?"

Sasuke frowned, the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach dulling a little. "Of course Itachi is going to notice you live here, why shouldn't he?"

At this Naruto looked decidedly uncomfortable and squirmed in his seat."But, uhm, what are you gonna tell him? It's not really normal to have an orphan boy move in all of a sudden, right? He's gonna ask questions, and it's gonna get weird and, ugh, I mean, shit, what if he, ya know…" Naruto's hands flailed in the air.

"I don't think I follow. What if he does what?"

"What if he figures it out. You and me." Naruto whispered as if someone was already listening in on them.

"I'm planning to tell him _before_ he gets here. Then he can blow some steam off, and not go ballistic on my ass when he arrives."

Naruto looked shocked. "You're going to tell him! _Why_?! He's your family, man, what if you lose him because of it! Are you crazy?"

"Naruto calm down."

"Nuh-uh you are _not_ allowed to lose your last family because of me. No way. I'm staying at Kiba's!" the blonde cried.

"_Naruto_!" Sasuke snapped. "He already _knows_."

"What?"

"Well, he doesn't know that you live with me _now_, but I told him about you, when you were at the foster home."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him skeptically. "How much did you tell?"

The raven sighed and rubbed his forehead still remembering the humiliating situation clearly. "All of it."

Blue eyes widened "_All-all_ or just _all?_"

"The whole thing."

The blue eyes continued to stare at him for a moment,and then Naruto's whole body began to sink into the couch. He began pilling pillows on top of himself as if to hide from the world. "That's _so_ embarrassing, Sasuke. Why did you have to tell all of it?"

"To be honest at the time, I didn't think the two of you would ever get the chance to meet."

"Stupid bastard" Naruto mumbled underneath the pillows.

* * *

Sasuke was daydreaming. He really shouldn't but it had just become so difficult to focus on his work lately. It used to be the most interesting thing in his life (there hadn't really been much competition about the spot) but now he had something, or rather someone much more fascinating holdning his attention.

It had been undignified to become jealous of Naruto's best friend. He should be happy that his… roommate… had not been lonely in the years they had been apart. Okay, maybe happiness was a little far-fetched, but at least accepting.

Speaking of said… roommate *cough, cough*, they were not officially together yet, and he wanted to change that. Of course, the fact that they were living together meant that their relationship was already serious, but he wanted to be able to call Naruto _his_. Not just roommate. That made it sound like they were sharing a dorm room in uni.

And when things had been made official he would call Itachi. No, wait, maybe he should just call him now. It would be for his own safety, after all. He pondered on the pros and cons of calling his brother, mostly as a way of procrastinating. One deep and revealing conversation a year was more than his usual quota, two were just pushing it. His phone ringing brought him back to earth. He sighed, momentarily relieved that he could push his discussion away for a minute.

"Hello, Sasuke Uchiha speaking."

"Sasuke."

_Speaking of the devil… Fuck, might as well get it over with._

"Itachi." Sasuke winced internally. "I was actually just thinking about calling you, there's something I have to talk to you about."

"Oh I bet there is." Sasuke didn't like that tone of voice. It emanated danger. "That something shouldn't by any chance be a blond kid standing in your living room, called _Naruto_, ne, little brother?"

_Oh shit. All that is holy and good save me now, this is not going to go over well._

"You're at my apartment?!" Sasuke said in the most normal voice he could muster. Anyone listening would have described it as a horrified screech.

"You forgot we have fall holidays over here, again, didn't you?"

Ooops… Itachi had mentioned something like that. He just hadn't said that he would be coming over as well, disregarding that Sasuke still had work.

"Itachi, please be nice to him. This is my fault. I'm coming home now and I'll explain. I planned on doing it, but just hadn't gotten around to it yet-"

"Oh don't worry, he gave me a _very_ warm welcome." Itachi drawled sarcastically.

In the background he heard Naruto yell; "I thought you were Sasuke! Otherwise I'd _never_ have done something like-"

Itachi hung up on him. Sasuke deeply regretted giving his big brother a house key at the moment.

* * *

- Half an hour earlier -

Naruto ran up the stairs full of energy. _Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke_.

School had him bored out of his mind and his young body craved the attention of his lover. He knew Sasuke wouldn't be home in another hour or so,, but that just meant he would have time for a shower and homework before the other got home. Then they could have the whole evening to themselves. Maybe they'd even have sex again...

An expectant shiver went down his spine at the thought. It had already been two days! How was he supposed to hold out for much longer! He was a virile young man after all.

With these thoughts running around his head, imagine his joy when he found the door unlocked and a pair of black shoes in the hallway. Of course Naruto wasn't the type to notice such details as, let's say, that it wasn't the right pair of black shiny shoes.

He saw Sasuke stand in the kitchen and ran in and latched onto the older man.

"Wah?!"

Extraordinarily pleased with himself for surprising Sasuke, Naruto turned him around and kissed him happily.

He didn't notice something was off until he felt the body in his arms stiffen. He opened his eyes to see what the problem was and staring back at him were wide eyes-

_Holy shit! Those are not Sasuke's eyes! Repeat, not Sasuke! Retreat! Retreat!_

"GYAAAAAAH!" He screamed like a girl and scrambled away as fast as physically possible. "Who the hell are you?!"

"I should be the one asking that!" Itachi hissed and wiped of his mouth in his sleeve. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my brother's apartment."

"Oh no! No, no, no, this is so bad timing! What have I done to deserve this." Naruto rambled to himself. Then sudden realization seemed to hit him. "Oh my god, I kissed you!" He almost retched. "That's disgusting!" He ran into the bathroom to clean his mouth.

_I kissed Sasuke's brother! This is the worst!_

* * *

When Sasuke took a step inside his home he was met by the sight of one dangerously silent brother and a very uncomfortable looking boyfriend. Not the best combination, that was for sure. Both Uchihas looked rather calm on the outside, but who were they trying to fool? They knew each other better than that.

Naruto quickly made his way to his side and his hands clamped down on Sasuke's arm. "It was all nice and dandy to get a surprise visit from your brother, but I'm going over to Kiba's now." He hissed.

"You're leaving me here? Traitor." Sasuke's voice was low and heavy with sarcasm. He understood perfectly well why Naruto wanted to escape the situation. Naruto's eyes flickered between the pair of brothers and said in a loud whisper;

"You brought this one on yourself. If you hadn't told him-"

"Oh I'm pretty sure I would have figured things out by myself by the kind of welcome you gave me." Itachi drawled, not even pretending that he couldn't hear them.

Sasuke frowned, what was Itachi talking about? "What do you mean?"

"Why don't you ask your little blonde _friend._"

Two pair of black eyes turned to look at blue, waiting for an explanation. Naruto went totally red in less than two second and spluttered some incomprehensible sound before exclaiming; "You look the same from behind, it wasn't my fault!" Then he grabbed his shoes in one hand and flew out the door without even bothering to put them on.

"I'm going to Kiba's!" Sasuke heard him yell, and got a bad feeling, as he was starting to get the gist of what had happened. For a moment his concern about Naruto's well being overrode the intimidating feeling Itachi was giving off.

"What did you do to him?"

"Me? I didn't do anything. He was the one suddenly throwing himself at me as if I was his long lost lover. Funny thing isn't it? He thought I was you, and _that_ is his reaction? Sasuke, I think I should be the one asking the questions here. What did _you_ do to _him_?"

Sasuke was suddenly reminded of the less than enthusiastic response he had gotten from Itachi when he first told him about Naruto. Maybe he should try and play it safe and tell Itachi a white lie for the moment being.

"He- he is just a very affectionate person. We have become quite close, so he does that all the time to annoy me-"

"I see. He makes out with you all the time, to annoy you." Itachi said in a monotone voice "what an interesting relationship the two of you must have."

"He did WHAT?"

"So now that we have established that you are a lousy liar, should we cut the crap and get to the case?"

Sasuke couldn't muster an answer. His mind was still blanked out from the horrible mental image he had just received. No wonder the little shit had escaped when he could.

"As I see it you have an underage orphan boy living with you, and you have somehow managed to make him fall for you, so that you can freely take advantage of him." Itachi's voice was grave and got angrier as he continued. "Please tell me that I have got this _all wrong_ Sasuke"

"He's not underage." Sasuke said with a feeble voice. He felt like a little boy being reprimanded and it didn't sit well with him. "And I'm not taking advantage of him, he came here of his own free will. He can leave any time he wants to."

Itachi gave him an icy stare and began walking towards him with determined steps. "Tsk, tsk, excuses Sasuke, that's all I'm hearing." When Itachi got uncomfortably close Sasuke tried to back away, but was met with a wall. Itachi brought his hand up to face height and Sasuke thought he would flick him on the forehead, like he had done so often when they were children. Instead he felt a hard fist connect with his jaw.

* * *

When he returned to consciousness, who knows how much later, he felt an awful throbbing in the back of his skull. It took him a while to realize that he was no longer in the hallway, but now lying on the couch. Itachi was sitting on the couch on the other side of the coffee table reading a newspaper and looking strangely peaceful.

_What the…?_

"Itachi?"

"Yes"

"Did you just… knock me out?"

"Hmpf, unfortunately, yes. I guess I went a little overboard. I hadn't taken into account that your head would hit the wall."

This. This was the exact reason why Sasuke was intimidated by his brother at times. When Itachi went a little overboard, you would _not_ want to be on the receiving end of his anger. The slim and calm man sitting in front of him was just a façade to hide the man who had practiced judo, jiu jitsu and karate for years. When Itachi wanted to hurt somebody he was very efficient and quick to do so, which was why people, who knew him well, often maintained some distance.

"I was quite mad at you, but I guess that you deserve some happiness in life so I'll forgive you. Eventually."

"Uh thanks, I guess." He winced in pain. "Damn did you really have to hit that hard?"

"Don't be an idiot Sasuke. You know, that I didn't _have_ to. But the boy has no one else to speak for him, and I figured that if his father had still been alive, you'd be worse of."

"Itachi you're not his father, and Naruto can take care of himself."

"I know, I know. But you did deserve it, if nothing else then for being an indecisive ass who left him at that foster home, just to come back for him when he turned legal."

"Hn." It was hard to defend against that one, since it was true. "Does all this mean that you accept our relationship?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "You're pushing it, but yes, since it does seem to be what you want I'll allow it."

"Geeh, thank you. Not like I need your permission anyway." Sasuke muttered. He slowly rose from his seat and went to get his phone. While he listened do the dialing tone he grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the freezer.

"Naruto? Yes I'm fine. Hmm. Are you coming home for dinner or are you staying at Kiba's? Okay, good, I'll see you then. What? Yes it _does_ bother me that you kissed my brother, now get your ass home. No, I don't think so. " He pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment and directed his voice at Itachi. "Are you mad at Naruto?"

"No. Why, is he scared of coming home?" Itachi said and snorted in amusement.

"You're safe as long as you don't piss him off." Sasuke answered Naruto. "Seems like he's actually quite protective of you. No, I'm not joking. Wha- Itachi did you threaten him?!"

"He barged into your house as if he owned the place. I just needed some answers, that's all."

"Fuck- you know what, forget I that asked. Naruto you'll be fine, he has already taken it out on me and is by the look of it quite pleased with himself at the moment. Yes. See you." He hung up and glared at his big brother.

* * *

/-/

I hope you liked getting to see Itachi again, although he's being mean to Sasuke (again...)

I know you guys probably don't like waiting for every single chapter, but I think it's for the best that I let a few days pass between each chapter. I have barely written a single page this weekend because I've been sick -_- Figured something like this would happen and I'd rather a few days in between than one looooong break.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 is here for your enjoyment as promised! A big thank you to all the readers who have put this story on alert and follow its progress and also thank you to all the new readers for- well, for reading it of course! More than 6000 views! I can't believe it :O

* * *

Itachi had finally left. He had been the centuries' biggest cockblock for the week that he had stayed, insisting that he wouldn't impose on Naruto and take his bed in the guestroom. No, it was just fine for him to sleep next to Sasuke, they were brothers after all. Sasuke gritted his teeth at the thought. He and Naruto had just gotten to a point where they could take things a little further before Itachi arrived, but his stupid brother had put a full stop to those activities. Naruto didn't even dare to kiss him when Itachi was in the building; it was awful.

Not only that, Naruto had also become quite nervous and agitated. He could see how his brother pushed at Naruto's red buttons, but whenever the blonde was about to blow a fuse, their eyes would meet and he would stop. He probably thought that Itachi was all the family they had combined, and that it therefore would be bad to get angry with him.

Sasuke really wished he had though. He knew Itachi wouldn't harm the blonde in any way, except maybe with a few sharp words. Seeing Naruto blow some steam of would probably have been fun as well.

He had never been happier to see Itachi leave, than after that week. His brother had not exactly been a nice way to test their budding relationship.

When he got home that day, he sighed in relief from knowing that he would only be met by one person. Naruto sat at the dining table brooding over piles of papers and textbooks while pulling at his hair. Sasuke went up behind him and gave a squeeze to his stiff shoulders.

"Homework?"

"Yeah, I have to do this really long report, and I don't understand half of what I'm reading." He whined. Sasuke's hands began massaging Naruto's tense neck. "Want help?"

"Ugnn no, just keep doing that, it feels really good."

Sasuke's neglected libido shot its head up at hearing those words. He knew Naruto meant nothing sexual with them, but couldn't help himself. It had been more than a week since their first, and only experience in his bedroom, and though he might not be a horny teenager anymore he was still a man with needs. He continued his ministrations with his hands, pushing and kneading tense muscles until they softened. Naruto made a visible effort to focus on the book he was reading but groaned deep in his throat when Sasuke got to one of the more stubborn muscles along his spine.

"_Sasukeee_, you're distracting me!"

A low chuckle escaped thin lips. "Am I now?" he whispered into Naruto's ear, not minding being a distraction at all.

"Yeah, you are. I really need to get this done before the weekend!"

"Hmm" Sasuke nibbled at an earlobe and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath. "Might I suggest…" he whispered "That I help you with it. _Later_."

Naruto looked up at him with big blue eyes trying to look stern. Sasuke let a hand caress his scared cheek and pulled him in for a kiss. All pretend of sternness disappeared from Naruto's face and his expression turned into a mix of shyness and expectation. "You promise to help me with it later? I really can't be late with this one, and if I'm doing it by myself I'll have to work on it today."

Sasuke smirked; he loved it when he got his way. "Promise."

"_Fine_." Naruto sighed and leaned into another kiss.

"You make it sound like I'm forcing you to do chores or something." Sasuke mumbled against his lips.

"No, that's not it… it's just, ugh, it's weird cause' we haven't done anything for so long, 'cause of you brother." Naruto said and blushed.

Sasuke grunted in displeasure. "I know, thank goodness that he finally left, so I can have you to myself."

"You never told me why you told him about me. When did you decide that was a good idea, huh?" Naruto whined.

"Oi, you would have blown our cover anyway with that stunt you pulled." Sasuke squeezed Naruto's arm hard at this. He still hadn't quite gotten over that Naruto had kissed his brother. "And I told him a few months ago."

Sasuke pulled him up so they were both standing and let his fingers run through soft blonde hair. "C'm here." His hands slid up Naruto's back and kept massaging sore muscles while he kissed the younger man breathless. The fact that he could easily make Naruto into mush in his hands always pleased him immensely. Unfortunately it seemed as if Naruto was quite hung up on his question.

"But why? Weren't you afraid that he'd be mad? I mean he's a pretty scary dude."

Sasuke sighed somewhat annoyed that they had to talk about his brother even after he left. "He was mad. But he kept telling me to find someone to share my life with, and kept prying when I told him I already had someone I was in love with. It all just went downhill from there and I ended up spilling it all to him."

Thinking of that time didn't really put him in a good mood, so he decided to forget everything about his brother and focus on his young partner instead. He pulled Naruto in another kiss, but stopped when he didn't feel the other respond. Naruto was staring at him with wide open eyes and mouth agape, looking like he had just been hit by something hard.

"Y-you're in love with me?"

_Did I just blurt that out? Shit, telling him by accident is really not the best way to confess, by why does he look so surprised?_

"Yes, I am." Sasuke said quietly. "Why else would I unable to forget you after two years?"

He saw how the wheels were practically turning in Naruto's head, as if he had a hard time comprehending the words being said. Blue eyes widened slowly and Naruto blinked a few times before he got back to earth. When he did the reaction was immediate.

"I love you too!" Naruto cried and pulled Sasuke into a hard kiss.

Sasuke felt more than just the hot mouth on his, a strange flutter filled him from within, and he felt light and suddenly empowered. Somewhere inside him he had known this, but hearing it out loud… He hadn't thought it necessary to talk about. Talking about feelings was for romantics and chick flicks, not for him. But actually hearing Naruto say it created a strong sense of being connected, of belonging with the other. It was a sudden certainty in what they had together, a bond that could no longer be broken by flimsy disruptions caused by their surroundings.

They pulled away for a moment to look at each other, Sasuke wondering about how something as small and insignificant as words could mean so much. Naruto on the other hand looked more pleased with himself than ever.

"You've got such a stick up your ass that I never thought you'd _ever_ say something like that!" Naruto exclaimed with a shit eating grin and pecked him teasingly on the nose.

"Hn. Not everything needs to be said out loud to be known." Sasuke grumbled and betrayed his own thoughts. He couldn't let Naruto think that spilling his feelings would become an everyday occurrence. That would be too much for him to handle.

Naruto was too busy trying to devour thin pale lips to object. Their make out session had taken a turn from being slow and sensual to urgent and needy. Sasuke felt scorching hot hands find their way under his shirt and curl around at his waist possessively. He reacted by letting one hand slide up Naruto's chest and gently massage a nipple until it hardened under his fingers. He did it the way he had just recently learned that Naruto liked, slow rolling motions that made the youth gasp and arch into his touch. His other hand went lower, and fingers brushed tentatively underneath the waistband of Naruto's pants.

That was when he felt a strong fingers grip the belt loops on his own pants and tug hardly. "Mmnn, Sasuke…" Naruto looked at him with pleading half lidded eyes, and Sasuke had a fair idea about what it was he wanted, but still asked with a low voice. "What do you want Naruto, what do you want me to do to you?" He let his hand slide further underneath the waistband and caressed the skin he came in touch with.

"Nngh, dunno, just-" he gasped when Sasuke backed him up against the table. Naruto's hips bucked as they came in contact and he buried his face in the junction of Sasuke's neck with a low growl.

"Just do something…" Naruto muttered embarrassedly against his neck.

"Are you giving me permission to do whatever I please?"

"…whatever… _fuck_, Sasuke you're the one who's supposed to know what we're doing here!" Naruto said with a strained voice as their hips pressed close again. It amused Sasuke greatly to see his younger counterpart lose his temper this way. Naruto was becoming frustrated and practically begged for more.

_Oh, there's quite a few things I want to do to you Naruto…_

Their hips met in shallow thrust a few times more before the dark haired male decided on his course of action. If he really wanted Naruto to lose it from feeling too much… He had a plan that would ensure that result. And though he had decided at some point, to wait with going all the way, he was still left with plenty of options.

The hand on Naruto's heaving chest plunged down to his groin and cupped the hard bulge, while his other hand pushed Naruto's pants down enough to grab one buttock. Simultaneously pulling him closer and rubbing at his arousal, had Naruto emitting a loud gasp. Sasuke's patience was short lived when he felt nails dig into his back and teeth bite his shoulder.

_He is trying to hold it in. Tsk, as if I'll let him do that._

In one swift movement he pulled the zipper on Naruto's denim pants down and then pulled the pants far enough down, that they fell the rest of the way on their own. Before his younger lover could protest he continued feeling him up, and _god_, it felt so much better to be touching bare skin. But contrary to what he thought, the blonde didn't even try to object; instead he tugged at Sasuke's shirt to get it off. "Y-you too."

"Hn." He stripped of his shirt and without hesitating pulled Naruto's off as well. Blue eyes ogled abs and chest, while black took in the sight of his now completely naked lover in front of him, the only exception being the pants around his ankles. Naruto shivered partly from being exposed to the air and partly from the hungry stare Sasuke directed at him.

Sasuke went for his neck, and nibbled on the blonde's pulse. He could feel it hammering away when he slowly let his tongue run over it and bit down as revenge for the bright red bite mark he now had on his shoulder.

He admired his mark on the tanned skin for a moment, but one wasn't enough. He left a long line of bite marks and hickeys down Naruto's chest, and felt strong hands tighten in his hair as he moved lower. When he got to the navel, he went down on his knees, and glanced up to meet blue eyes. He couldn't tell whether Naruto was just really aroused or a shocked at the position. He put his hands on tanned hips and pressed until Naruto was sitting on the edge of the table. With a gleam in his eye Sasuke's mouth traveled even further down and Naruto looked like he was about to faint at the realization of what was going to happen.

"Sasuke- Aah!... " Naruto's grip on his hair tightened and his hips bucked so hard that he no longer touched the table. Pale hands pushed him back and held him there, while lips and tongue went to explore hot flesh.

He knew he wasn't playing fair. He should be gentle and sweet, but didn't have it in him to be that way. His want to be with Naruto was too strong, his impatience pushing them into what he could only hope Naruto would be ready for. He desperately wanted to show Naruto how it could be between them. He wanted to make up for all the time they could have spent together and it was like the two years of development their relationship should have had, was now being rushed through in less than two weeks.

It was going too fast, the change between being a protector and being a lover. But he couldn't bring himself to care, not at the moment at least. Naruto gasped and cried out every time he sucked or teased him with his tongue. The noises were too sweet to give up on.

The table skidded a few times when Naruto bucked especially hard. When a tan fist harshly banged down onto the table, neither of them paid any attention to the papers and books falling to the floor. Sasuke knew Naruto was getting close, the blonde's hitched breath was interrupted by loud moans again and again, and he was standing on the tips of his toes with all his muscles tensed up. The hand on the table was fumbling for anything it could hold onto, and ended up crumpling several pieces of paper just to grip on _something_. Sasuke didn't stop, he didn't give Naruto a single chance to calm down, even though it sounded like the poor man was about to hyperventilate.

One last hard suck and the caress of experienced hands made Naruto come with a shout. His whole body arched and a tremor went through him. Sasuke caught him in his arms, when his knees buckled under him, and he slid to the ground.

He let Naruto lean on him, though his own arousal made it uncomfortable to sit still. Naruto was barely hanging on gasping for air like a half drowned man. Sasuke watched him, fascinated by the blue eyes that were darkened by dilated pupils and the lips that had become red and glistening from rough kisses. He felt himself become even harder, if that was in any way possible at the moment, and shoved a chair out of the way so they could lie down on the floor.

"S-sasuke…" Naruto seemed to finally have caught his breath. "The floor… we shouldn't-"

Sasuke captured his lips too dazed to wait for Naruto to finish speaking. He needed release so badly that it wasn't even funny. A few seconds later his brain kicked in and realized Naruto had been trying to tell him something. He pulled away reluctantly and hovered over Naruto's body leaning on his elbows, so he could keep touching the tanned skin underneath him.

"What were you saying?" he asked in between gasps.

"Huh? I dunno, was I...?" Naruto responded, still too light headed from his orgasm to think properly. "I know! We're on the floor, shouldn't we…?"

"Hn. It's fine." Sasuke grunted out impatiently. He tried to reach down with to finish himself off, but was stopped by fumbling hands trying to do away with his pants.

"Wait Sasuke, I want to-"

"_Fuck_! " He hissed. He was so aroused already, that if Naruto touched him he would not last a minute. "It's fine you don't have- " Whatever he had been trying to say was caught in his throat as strong fingers wrapped around him and pulled all too gently.

Sasuke wasn't the vocal type, but damn if Naruto didn't make it hard (no pun intended) to stay that way. Doing it with someone you loved was not to be underestimated. It was like every sensation had been doubled from what it normally would have been, because it wasn't just the physical pleasure that filled him, but also the tingling excitement of being with _Naruto_. Not just a random somebody, no, this was a person he wanted to come back for more, a person he wanted to want him too.

He was so much more aware of every sound that escaped his partner, and every stroke he received. He realized with dawning horror that self control would be next to impossible from now on, as he felt his muscles spasm against his will. He pressed his forehead hard against the younger one's neck and finished off with a loud moan.

When he got his breath under control, he rolled off of Naruto and glanced at him. Blue eyes were staring straight back at him and he got a little relieved seeing that Naruto was almost as out of breath as he was. He closed his eyes enjoying the heat of the afterglow, and felt soft lips touch his own not a moment later. A weight settled on his shoulder and something tickled his neck.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"Did you just give me a blowjob?" a whisper asked close to his ear.

"Yes, I believe so." Sasuke chuckled and opened his eyes just a little. He laughed out loud when he saw how perplexed and flushed Naruto was.

"It was really hot, but…Uh.." At this Naruto waved around a tanned hand covered in a sticky white mess.

_ Oh._

"We should get cleaned up-"

Naruto wasn't listening. Instead he looked at Sasuke with that mischievous glint in his eyes that Sasuke had come to learn so well.

In one deliberate motion Naruto wiped it off on Sasuke's stomach, all the way from his chest to navel. Sasuke looked at him in disbelief for a second and that was all the time Naruto needed to get up and run for his life.

"You little brat!" Sasuke yelled after him and got up. "Get back here!"

"No way!" Naruto laughed and ran into safety in the bathroom. Sasuke pounded on the door and was met with the sound of Naruto guffawing on the other side.

"You know, this _brat_ just got you off, and besides that was yours to begin with, I was just giving it back." Naruto sniggered.

"Hn… just let me in, I need a bath more than you do now…" Sasuke growled and refused to acknowledge the blush crawling up his neck.

"I dunno, Sasuke… Is it safe to let you in?" A teasing voice asked as the door was cracked opened letting a playful blue eye come into view. Sasuke pushed his way in and closed the door behind him.

"Safe? But Naruto you never play it safe, do you?" Sasuke said with a predatory grin.

"Eeeep! No, Sasuke! That'a not fair, you- Ahh! Haha… " Naruto gasped for air and tried to swat Sasuke hands away. "You know I'm ticklish! Bad Sasuke! Ahaha Sasuke stop!"

* * *

One time wasn't enough, so when they finally got out of the shower both of them were flushed and very much satisfied. It had taken them quite some time getting dried and dressed, since a certain blonde had liked to do everything he could to prevent Sasuke from putting his clothes back on. Said blonde was now hanging onto Sasuke's arm drowsily when his stomach growled loudly.

"Sasuke, foooood. Gimme food!" Naruto whined and bit down on a pale arm to emphasize his hunger.

"Hn. Can't. Forgot I had to buy groceries."

"What?! Aww man, you can't be serious." Blue eyes filled with disappointment.

"Let's go buy some now, then we can still make it back in time for your stupid quiz show."

"We?" A pair of puppy eyes and pouting lips were suddenly directed at Sasuke. "But Sasuke, I'm tired _and_ I have to do homework."

They both glanced over at Naruto's homework, half of it lying spread out on the floor. Naruto's cheeks heated at the memory of why exactly it had ended up that way, which just made him look even more adorable in Sasuke's eyes.

"Too bad. Since you don't care enough to go with me, I guess it'll be vegetarian food for the rest of the week." Sasuke stated and went to get his wallet and keys.

"That's freaking blackmail you bastard!"

Sasuke smirked. He knew exactly which buttons to push, to get what he wanted.

* * *

I have been busy as f*ck this week and have only written about 1½ page. It's really horrible. I want to write but whenever I get home from school there's always things that need to be done, so even though I have plenty of inspiration, I have no time to write. I will hopefully get chapter 15 and some of 16 written this weekend so that I can keep up with the 4-5 days between the updates.

-...-

I hope you enjoyed that Naruto and Sasuke finally got some alone time. It was a lot easier to write this scene than the first lime-y scene, but as the writer it is hard to know how it feels for an other person to read it. Please let me know if you think there's something that feels off/strange etc. so I can improve in the future :)


	15. Chapter 15

This story is now more than a 100 pages long... how the hell did that happen? I used to dream of becoming an author when I was little, but discarded that idea long ago, because I never had the patience to write more than 3 pages! (I was 12, seems like the past 7 years were actually good for something)

This was a difficult chapter to write, since I was interrupted by life about a hundred times, but I hope you like it anyway!

* * *

Going shopping with Naruto was a challenge. At some point the young man had changed from being scared to ask for anything, to simply dump whatever he wanted in the basket. Probably because he knew he wouldn't get half of it, if he didn't sneak it in somehow.

It even seemed as if the blonde purposely took more than necessary just to be sure Sasuke wouldn't put all of it back on the shelves. This did of course make their daily shopping for groceries a prolonged affair. At some point Sasuke lost sight of him, but guessed that he'd most likely find him in the aisle with pasta and other dry foods or reading comics near the checkout.

He certainly didn't expect to see his lover throwing himself at some redheaded man in the middle of the supermarket. He felt himself bristle at the sight of something, that obviously belonged to him in the arms of someone else. Who the hell was this person anyway? Was it that Kiba guy Naruto had been talking about? He stalked towards them with long steps, ready to introduce himself as Naruto's special someone the first chance he got.

Naruto got ahead of him because as he saw Sasuke approach, he pulled away from the stranger a send a beaming smile Sasuke's way. The other man, no wait, the other kid, turned around to see who Naruto was pointing at.

"Sasuke! Sasuke this is Gaara! He's Temari's sister and came to visit me at the foster home all the time, because Temari was there all the time, and he lives really close, and they have a pool, but Gaara doesn't like being out in the sun, he's kinda like you that way, and-"

Sasuke clasped his hand over Naruto's mouth. "You're rambling."

"Oh, yeah, I guess. Sorry." Naruto scratched at the back of his head. The redhead was staring blankly at Sasuke and even though he wasn't as tall as either Sasuke or Naruto he had an ominous air around him."Gaara this is Sasuke, he's the guy I'm living with." Naruto introduced him.

Sasuke frowned a little at the introduction. At least he hadn't been referred to as a mere friend. The both reached out to shake hands reluctantly eyeing each other coldly.

"Aww man, Gaara you gotta come see the place I'm staying at, it's sweet! Sasuke's apart is so much nicer than the foster home, and I even have my own room!"

"I liked the foster home…" Gaara muttered and watched Sasuke suspiciously through narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, yeah I know, but that's just 'cause you don't like being at home with your siblings." Naruto said and waved off Gaara's comment as if it was nothing. "Maybe you can come over now? It's only seven, so you can stay for a couple of hours, right?"

Sasuke interrupted Naruto's enthusiastic invitation, feeling a little shaken about the prospect of having some stranger visiting his place."Naruto, you have that report to finish, don't you remember?"

"Damn, you're right…" Naruto muttered dejectedly. "You'll have to come over another day then." He said apologetically as if he was cancelling a long planned visit.

"It's fine. I don't have time tonight anyway." Gaara said in his monotone voice.

"Oh well, call when you have time. No wait!" Naruto exclaimed and facepalmed."Of course it won't work if you call the foster home, but I've gotten my own cell phone now, isn't it cool?" He asked as he pulled it out of his pocket and showed it to Gaara.

"It's nice."

"Yeah it really is, here I'll give you my number." Naruto said and pulled out a pen from who knows were. One of the habits that followed with being homeless was wearing clothes with a bunch of pockets to keep all your stuff in, and some things like this stuck even after everything else had changed. He pulled Gaara's arm forward and scribbled his number on the pale skin without asking for permission.

"See you later Gaara" The blonde waved goodbye to the redhead and began pulling Sasuke to the check out. "Gods Sasuke I'm starving, let's hurry home."

Sasuke found no reason to object that proposal.

"So that boy was Gaara, and your other friend's name was Kiba. Anyone else I need to know about?" Sasuke asked over dinner.

Naruto tapped his index finger at his chin as if thinking hard.

"Hmm… There's Sai, but I don't think he'll come visit anytime soon. He was just admitted to the CYM Hospital a couple of months ago. There's also Konohamaru, but I'll visit him and the others at the foster home at the same time. There's also a couple more from school that I talk to, but I don't think they'll come and visit." Naruto's expression suddenly fell as if he realized something.

"Shit, I didn't even ask. Is it okay for me to bring friends over? I mean of course we don't want Iruka to know stuff, but it would also be bad if Temari knew, and Gaara still lives with her and their brother…"

Sasuke's expression softened a little. "Hn. It's your home as much as it's mine now. You should know that it's fine."

"Thanks Sasuke." Naruto leaned over the table with a sweet smile and planted a wet kiss on Sasuke's cheek. With Naruto being so considerate, late or not, he felt that he should be as well. It came quite naturally since he genuinely was concerned about Naruto's well-being, but he had never thought about how caring about Naruto somehow included caring about the blonde's relationships with his friends. He needed to show some interest in Naruto's life to be a good boyfriend didn't he?

"How come your friend is at the hospital?"

"Oh, you mean Sai? Well he's in an out of that place all the time, so I'm sure he'll be fine. They usually send him back when the nurses get enough of him, heh." Naruto answered smiling as if thinking about an inside joke.

"When they get tired of him?" Sasuke asked puzzled. "CYM, isn't that the children and youth-"

"Mental hospital." Naruto finished his sentence. "He's a little strange, all right, but I really don't think it's necessary to send him there all the time. It's mostly because he piss people off. Then they try to fight him, and he always wins the fights, so he's seen as a trouble kid. But it's just because he doesn't know any better and-"

Sasuke zoned out and promised himself not to ask about any of Naruto's friends again. They could take care of themselves just fine. The thought alone of him _trying_ to care even slightly about more than one person at a time should have warned him off.

Naruto's choice of friends was strange to say the least. The dog boy, the loud underling at foster home, the crazy guy and the freaky redhead. Sasuke felt no need to get to know any of these people, Naruto was plenty enough for him.

Naruto told one story after another about his adventures with his friends and all the mischief they had caused in the past, while Sasuke responded with a grunt or a 'Hn' every once in a while. He was more amused by Naruto's antics and excessive body language than the stories as they stood next to each other cleaning up after dinner. Naruto's hands gestured in all directions and Sasuke almost got hit in the head by a dirty plate at one point. It felt like the blonde could go on all night, but Sasuke eventually stopped him by grabbing him around his waist and steering him back to the table where Naruto's homework still lay forgotten and messed up after their earlier activities.

"Time to get back to work."

Naruto sighed "I know… It's just so _boring_, and I don't understand half of it."

"Stop whining, I told you I'd help you with it."

They both sat down and Naruto tried to sort the papers out and flatten the ones that had been wrinkled in the heat of the moment. Sasuke could see he was trying to concentrate by the tiny crease that appeared between his brows, but every time the blue eyes landed on him, Naruto got off track and seemed to forget what they were talking about.

"Concentrate. I'm not going to repeat myself all the time."

Naruto mumbled something inaudibly and hid his face in the papers.

"What?"

"I said-" Blue eyes gave him a sharp look, but the blush betrayed him."I can't focus, when we're sitting here."

Sasuke frowned confused."Why not?"

"Because… damnit… " Naruto flushed an even brighter red. "Have you forgotten that we were getting it on _right here_ less than a couple of hours ago? And now you're sitting there playing it all cool, but every time I look down, you're perving at me! There's no way I could concentrate!"

"I'm doing what?!" Sasuke exclaimed almost about to laugh.

"You're looking at me like you wanna eat me! It's- it's just so- Gaah I can't! Go over and watch tv or something, you're too distracting!"

Sasuke slowly got up and did as told. He hadn't been aware about looking at Naruto, but now that he was… He'd make sure to show the blonde knew the difference between accidental looks shot his way, and when Sasuke truly gave him all his attention. He turned the tv on, but kept facing the blonde and his eyes practically dressed him off.

Naruto didn't notice at first, but when he did his reaction was immediate. Blue eyes quickly glanced at dark ones, and then Naruto let out a screech. "Sasuke stop it!"

Pale lips turned up in a smirk. It was just too easy to piss him off.

* * *

/-/

They had yet to go all the way, but Sasuke knew that it was only a question about time. Currently his hands were travelling down a tanned naked back to explore yet unknown territory. They were standing closely together in the shower hot and sweaty from their run, their blood still pounding in their veins. It had been harder than the times he went for a run alone, because he was more of a long distance runner while Naruto was a sprinter, which meant they had taken turns to adapt to each others' tempo.

But there was nothing like physical activity to get the libido going, and judging on the hard appendage pressed against his stomach he was not the only one affected by it. The feel of smooth wet skin under his hands was exhilarating, and for a moment he let his hand slip in between Naruto lower cheeks to feel the heat there.

The blonde let out a soft gasp at the touch and a small tremor went through him when Sasuke's hand gently slid over the sensitive skin and slipped away again. The motion was repeated teasingly and Naruto squirmed in his arms as if unsure of which way to move anymore. He obviously wanted to continue the rhythmic thrusts bringing them closer, but he also wanted to experience more of this new sensation.

Sasuke was thrilled by the how Naruto seemed to be eager to go further instead of scared away from the action. He let one finger delve down and rub in small circles around his entrance until the blonde bit down on his neck hard, in protest of the teasing. He was just about to continue when a loud noise brought him out of their heated embrace. At first he didn't want to believe his own ears, but then it came again.

It was the doorbell.

_You have got to be kidding me! If this is some idiotic salesman or one of those charity groups…_

"Shit." Naruto gasped. "It must be Kiba!"

Sasuke decided right then and there that he by principle would dislike all of Naruto's friends, simply because they took away from the time Naruto could be spending with _him_. In this particular situation this Kiba person had even had the audacity to interrupt his 'happy time' with the blond. This guy was asking for trouble.

Sasuke reluctantly let his boyfriend go when the doorbell kept ringing obnoxiously. Naruto got dressed in record time (though only his lower half) and Sasuke could hear him running through the hallway to get to the door. He leaned against the wall and pouted for a few minutes in disappointment. The loud voice of Naruto's friend effectively killed any arousal he might still have felt, and he quickly finished showering, feeling too hot to really enjoy the warm water.

"Just give me a sec, I need to get my shirt." He could hear Naruto say from outside the door, a moment before the blonde came barging in. "Heheh,sorry about that one. I didn't think it was so late already, thought we'd have more time." Naruto whispered apologetically.

"Hn, 's fine." Sauke grunted and followed him out.

There, on the middle of his nice designer couch, sat what he could only describe as a savage. Naruto might have been dirty and disheveled at times, but his eyes and expression had always had a softness to them. That was not the case with Kiba. His hair was sticking up in all directions, his wide grin clearly showed off a pair of fangs and his eyes were that of a wild predator. The tattoos on his cheeks, his square jaw with stubbles and sturdy body only reinforced this impression.

"Hey man, you must be Sasuke!" Kiba greeted him loudly and hit him on the shoulder instead of shaking hands like a normal person would. "Naruto's blabbering about you all the time, he's such a girl." Kiba snickered at this and was hit in the side by Naruto, for his remark.

"Shut up Kibs!"

"Haha you really can't take a little teasing. Didn't think it would be this kinda guy you'd be into though. Seems a little too straight laced." Kiba said as he gave Sasuke a once over.

Dark eyes scowled back at him. Sasuke was in no mood to be particularly friendly.

Suddenly Kiba's eyes narrowed and his glance flickered from Sasuke to Naruto. "Wait a minute… Were the both of you just in there?" The savage, as Sasuke had dubbed him in his mind, looked a little green underneath the tattoos. " Aaaw man, no, just no I don't wanna be a witness to that, hell naw." Kiba grimaced and tried to cover his eyes.

Sasuke couldn't help the amused snort. So Naruto's little friend knew about them, but wasn't too thrilled about it? Why not make sure it would stay that way, so he wouldn't ever interrupt them on purpose. "Naruto." He said with his most sultry voice. "We can continue were we left off tonight, don't you think?"

"Whaa-? Sasuke don't say that when Kiba's here!"

"Why not? He seems to know already."

"That doesn't mean I want to watch it happen!" Kiba growled and pulled Naruto away from Sasuke. "Come on, let's go to the arcade, otherwise he's just gonna molest you right in front of me, or something freaky."

"No he wouldn't do that-" Naruto said and turned to face Sasuke mid sentence. "You wouldn't do that. Right? Sasuke?"

Sasuke let his eyes answer. They spoke more clearly than any words; 'Why _wouldn't_ I?'

"Uh, kay, Kibs." The blonde chuckled nervously. "The arcade sounds good..."

He watched them with a smirk as Naruto hurriedly tried to push his friend out of the door, to escape before it was too late.

* * *

/-/

Sasuke's life was changing. He should have known how it would turn his life upside down to bring Naruto back into it, but he was only starting to get the gist of the extent of it now. He had never thought that being with Naruto, would entail letting so many other people into his life, and he was having some difficulty adjusting to it.

He had been living most of his grown-up life in solitude, and even though he loved Naruto to bits, it still felt weird to have another person sharing his space. It was a pleasant weird, but none the less hard to get used to.

Kiba wasn't the only one visiting anymore. Gaara had come by a few times, and even the crazy guy from the mental hospital had been allowed outside for long enough to stop by. He was more or less forced to take it all in stride, though he would have preferred to have his honeymoon days with the blonde uninterrupted. Never before had he believed himself to be the possessive type, but the thought of keeping Naruto to himself seemed more and more appealing.

Little did he know that that would soon be an impossible feat to accomplish. The redhead was over at their place _again_ and Naruto had been talking the poor boy an ear off for the past three hours. Sasuke couldn't really bring himself to feel sorry for Gaara, but only breathed a sigh of relief when Gaara's phone beeped and the silent boy announced that he would be picked up in a minute by his brother.

But he had been too quick to let his guard down and relax. He realized this, as he opened the door and saw Kankuro staring back at him from the other side.

His colleague raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side.

"Sasuke? Didn't know you lived here. I was just going to pick up my brother from a friend's place, but I guess I must have gotten the wrong number." He gave a short laugh, but stopped short when Gaara stepped into view.

Sasuke felt a cold chill down his back. Kankuro wasn't the smartest person he knew, but he could surely put two and two together.

"Eeh? What are you doing here Gaara?"

"I told you this was the address."

"...Yeah, but this is Sasuke's place. Weren't you going to visit Naruto?"

Gaara, who could only be beat in lack of social tact by Sai, pretty much threw Sasuke under the bus with his next words.

"Naruto lives here too. They're lovers." He said it in his most monotone voice as if he hadn't just revealed very personal information about his best friend.

_That little bastard!_

Kankuro's jaw went slack and his brows furrowed.

"What did you just say?!"

"Naruto lives here."

"N-no the other part. I must have heard it wrong; I thought you just said that they were together-"

"They ar- mmfgh!" Naruto had clamped his hand hard over Gaara's mouth and held him in a chokehold from behind.

It was too late.

The damage had been done, and the matching blushes on Sasuke and Naruto's face would have given them away, no matter what. Sasuke gave a dark glare to the redhead, and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

The hallway filled with a very awkward silence.

"I-I think it's time for you to go home right Gaara?" Naruto said, his voice a pitch too high. "You must be tired. You're saying such weird things hahaha." He laughed nervously trying to disperse the tense air.

Kankuro was staring at Sasuke, and he felt his hackles rise. He had no idea about how Kankuro would react to his and Naruto relationship, but he knew it wouldn't be good. The blonde's friends might accept it as if it was an everyday occurrence, but his brother had already given him a taste of what society thought of such a romance.

He steeled himself for the oncoming insults or signs of disgust in Kankuro's expression. It would only be able to hurt him so much, since he had been aware of his sexuality for so long, but he felt a protective need not to let Naruto get hurt by it as well. Even with everything Naruto had been through he still possessed a certain naivety concerning some things, and Sasuke would do everything to keep it that way.

"There's no need to look like you're going to tear me to pieces, Sasuke." Kankuro said slowly, looking deep in thought. Sasuke couldn't read the tone of his voice for the life of him.

Naruto looked like he was torn between running away and whacking his friend over the head for the careless comment, while Gaara only seemed mildly displeased for being manhandled.

Ever so slowly Kankuro's lips turned up into a mischievous grin. Sasuke felt totally thrown off when the other man began to outright laugh.

"Oh my god, Neji is going to have a field day with this! " Kankuro tried to stop snickering, but could help himself. "And Ino… Oh man this is probably the best gossip she'll get her hands on ever."

Sasuke gaped at him.

_He can't be serious. Please tell me that he isn't serious! Why would he tell everyone? This is a private matter! Christ I could get fired if it became common knowledge._

"Kankuro I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't tell-"

"No way man, this is too good to let go." His colleague snickered obnoxiously again and Sasuke frowned. "Come on, you can see the humor in this, right?" He gave Sasuke a hard pat on the back.

"You and Naruto… Who'd have thought such a match was possible. Poor Ino, trying to set you up with all of her friends."

"It was _one_ date…"

Kankuro suddenly turned to look at Naruto. "Damn boy, not only do you have the ability to soften up my brother, you also stole the ice prince's heart? You must really be something." He mused over something for a moment. "So this is the person who got your panties in a twist, huh?"

Sasuke flushed in anger at the crude comment "I did not get anything in a twist-"

"Jeez, you should've seen him Naruto it was so funny! He was acting like a teenage-girl in love this whole time-"

That was the last drop that made the cup run over. Sasuke basically threw Gaara and Kankuro out and slammed the door in their face. He made an angry hissing noise at the door.

_Fuck, why do Naruto's friend have to be related to my colleague? This is the worst luck ever!_

"See you on Monday!" Kankuro yelled in a singsong voice from the other side of the door. Sasuke muttered a curse under his breath.

* * *

/-/

Phew, almost thought I wouldn't make it in time with this one. Being sick really kills all inspiration and energy to write. But I made it (yay!) and wrote half of chapter 16 at the same time.

Sorry no real smexy time in this chap, but the next one...


	16. Chapter 16

Here is chapter 16! Sorry about the slight delay, I had some trouble with the website, but it seems to be all right now. At first no one could read the chapter I uploaded for like half a day, and then there were troubles with the views/visitors for several days. I wanted to wait with uploading this chapter until I was sure it had been fixed. Has any other writers been experiencing these problems?

Oh well, no more talk, it's story time!

* * *

Monday was hell.

Kankuro had actually been enough of a bastard to out him to his entire group of friends at work. They didn't seem to mind him being gay at all, which was a huge relief, but they had no problem teasing him with it either or being overly curious.

_This is the exact reason why I never told them anything about my personal life. Don't they have anything else to do than gossip about my private affairs?_

Ino attacked him as soon as he stepped in the door and squealed something about how cute and romantic it was and that he should have told her sooner. She asked so many questions, that he almost felt dizzy, when she left. Some of them were less than appropriate and it was awfully hard to concentrate on his work tasks with question like; "_How does he look? Does he have a cute butt?_","_How is he in bed_?" and "_Catching such a young one, you guys must be going at it all the time, right?"_ flowing around in his head.

Of course he didn't tell her the answers, which would have been _adorable, yes, good_ and _yes_, accordingly. No need to get her mind further in the gutter than it already was.

Hinata shyly showed her support, but she looked a little too happy about the whole thing. Sasuke couldn't really figure out whether she was genuinely happy for him, amused by the whole thing, or a mix of both. Even Shikamaru commented on the news and had given hoarse laugh as a result of too many years spent smoking.

Neji had a hard time keeping a straight face with him. Sasuke caught the usual stoic, pale eyed man biting his lips to keep the snickers at bay, one too many times for his liking.

_I hope he falls for some empty headed bimbo, who can wrap him around her little finger. Then we'll see who'll be laughing._

Shino was not really a part of the gossip mill and wasn't told about until lunch that day. He only raised an eyebrow and said "I see." As if it was nothing. Unfortunately, he was the only one with a reasonable reaction that day, in Sasuke's opinion.

A person, who had also been informed, by some evil twist of fate, was Kakashi. His client had been thoroughly amused, while Sasuke had felt humiliated, as he suddenly had to try to answer politely to some very prying questions, seeing as it was Kakashi who asked them. He would almost have preferred being scorned instead of being the butt of every joke that day.

Why they found it so funny was beyond him anyway, but he had a suspicion that it had something to do with that bastard Kankuro. Who knows? The idiot could have made him seem like some lovesick fool, in his colorful descriptions of his visit to the Uchiha residence. He had to somehow get revenge for this whole thing. Fed up with his colleagues he tried to bottle himself up in a corner to plot evil plans of revenge.

* * *

What Naruto got that day when Sasuke returned home, was one very frustrated man, whose patience had been tested repeatedly the entire day. Before he knew what hit him he was pressed down on the couch, and prevented from saying as much as a greeting, by Sasuke's hungry mouth. Sheer surprise from the attack kept the blonde in a stupefied daze, as he let Sasuke have his way.

Not that he minded it at all, quite the opposite, really. Having Sasuke lose his cool was one of his favorite pass times, and especially in this way. The older male had his hands buried in blonde hair and he pushed his body forward until it fit snugly in between Naruto's legs.

He licked and bit at Naruto's lips, dominating the kiss and taking his frustrations out on the blonde. He knew that he shouldn't be so rough, but treating Naruto like a fragile flower wasn't the answer either. They were both out of breath when he managed to calm down a little, and reluctantly pulled away.

"Rough day?" Naruto gasped.

"Please. Don't remind me about it."

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as their eyes locked. Naruto seemed to be more pleased, than in any way miffed about suddenly being forcefully pushed down.

_Thank goodness he isn't easily scared away. What the hell would I have done if he'd been a girl?_

The peace only lasted for a moment before Sasuke captured his lips again with new vigor. The sight of Naruto lying underneath him looking all disheveled and flushed turned him on indescribably. Tanned arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him down until their bodies were pressed tightly against each other.

Sasuke let his hands roam over Naruto's body and it didn't take long before they found their way under the blonde's shirt. He was so into it that his mind barely registered what Naruto was trying to do until he felt cool air hit his back and bottom. Naruto's attempt to undress him was only stopped by their position, and the blonde made a displeased noise, at only getting Sasuke's clothes halfway off.

"Eager aren't we?" Sasuke teased smugly, and a little surprised at Naruto's boldness.

"What the heck? You were the one who jumped me the moment you stepped in the door!"

"Mmm that's true…" Sasuke murmured against the soft skin of Naruto's neck. "Couldn't help it, you're too cute."

"What? Y-you can't be serious! I'm not- nngh.. Sasuke why do you have to be so embarrassing!"

"I don't know…" Sasuke whispered close to his ear. "Maybe because you look even cuter embarrassed?"

"I'm a man, goddamnit! You're emasculating me! Again!"

"Hmm, I see you've learned some new long words. But don't worry, the last thing I'd want to do to you is emasculate you." Sasuke said and snuck a hand down to squeeze the bulge in Naruto's pants. "That would after all, destroy the purpose of what we're doing right now."

"Ahh! Now you're calling me an idiot too, you basta- Mmngh, _fuck_!"

Sasuke sucked in a breath when he felt Naruto arch under him in response to his touch. He might be head over heels in love with Naruto, but in the past few weeks he had managed to get the upper hand a few times. It felt amazing to just let loose, but it was also slightly unnerving have no control, so he welcomed these moments.

He wasn't going to waste this chance and decided to strike while the iron was hot.(1) He tried to get up so that he could remove the, in his opinion, excessive amount of clothes Naruto was wearing. His partner only registered the sudden lack of warmth and pulled him back into a clumsy kiss that made their teeth clack against each other.

"Naruto-" Sasuke was interrupted again by a warm tongue invading his mouth. "Clothes. We need to get them off-"

"Yeah, Mmmn, here, get it off. " Naruto moaned and tried to tear off both of their shirts at the same time.

"Naruto that's not going to work- wait lay down, I'll get it."

He shed his own button up shirt in record time, and proceeded to pull Naruto's pants and boxers down simultaneously. He cursed under his breath, as he had to stand up to get his own pants off, before he could return to his impatient boyfriend. He settled between Naruto's legs again and shivered at the feeling of hot bare skin touching his own. Naruto's hips moved up to meet his as he lay down on top of him. It was the first time he felt Naruto respond to him this eagerly, and the combined heat of their bodies was driving him mad.

One hand teased and caressed the bare chest heaving for air, while the other grabbed their arousals and began a slow pumping motion. Sasuke decided in that moment, that he'd never be able to grow tired of having Naruto moaning under him like this; it was just too good. He twisted his grip, pulled, pushed and slowly teased the tip until the blonde was making incoherent noises and squirming in his arms. A tremor went through Naruto, warning Sasuke that he was getting close.

He smirked; sure, Naruto was young enough to agree to a second round. But before he could continue Naruto grabbed his wrist and halted his movement.

"S-stop!"

"W-what?! What's wrong?" Sasuke frowned, concerned by the sudden plea. "Do you want me to stop?"

"I want to do it."

Sasuke's mind blanked. Did Naruto mean what he thought he meant?

No, he was probably just saying that _he_ wanted to do it, instead of Sasuke doing-

A pair of tanned legs wrapped around his waist, pressing their groins together in a _very _suggestive way, and doing away with any doubts.

_Oh God, he does._

"The bed. Now." It was more a growl than anything else.

Naruto just nodded, feeling it too much to answer with words. In less than a second both of them were standing, not very successfully, trying to make their way into the bedroom, gasping and panting for air. They almost tripped when their feet got tangled in their discarded clothes and the dinner table proofed itself to be another obstacle getting in their way.

Naruto pushed him against the wall when they got to the hallway, only pausing for a moment.

"Sasuke, I've got… In my room, I've got condoms…" He gasped, blushing ferociously.

Sasuke froze in the middle of his movement and stared at lowered blue eyes, as his mind slowly caught up with the implications of what had just been said.

"I mean, I knew that we'd eventually… And we-we are going to use it, right?" Naruto looked more flustered than Sasuke had ever seen him before.

"We are going to need it, r-right? Not that there's somethin' weird wrong with me, or anything, but I-I just thought… No I mean, fuck I dunno…" He scratched at the back of his head nervously as he kept rambling;

"It's just, I haven't really done _that_ before, and I don't want to mess up, so I just figured better safe than sorry and all that-"

"Naruto." Sasuke stopped him with a tender kiss. Somehow, the blonde had managed to take on the role of the responsible adult again, and he felt a sweet tug at his heartstrings. No matter how much they teased or made fun of each other, both knew there was so much more to their relationship. The dark haired man felt responsible for getting this done right, and he didn't want his younger partner to fret about the details, or become nervous because of his inexperience.

"I've got it covered, don't worry." Sasuke said and pulled him the last few steps into the bedroom.

"Oh thank fuck." He heard the relief in the voice next to him, and felt like hitting himself. He might not be a big fan of talking and sharing, but he should probably have spoken to his young lover about their sex life, at some point.

It wasn't until Naruto lay naked on his bed in front of him, that it really hit him. Naruto had thought about this happening, maybe even anticipated it. And it hadn't just been fantasizing, at some point he had even gone out to buy condoms for them.

He lay down next to Naruto and closed the gap between them. They kissed, caressed, and touched, tangling their bodies until neither of them knew where one stopped and the other began. The blonde ended up on top of him, which made Sasuke's hands free to explore the soft tanned skin wherever he wanted to. His fingers ran up and down Naruto's back, now damp with sweat, and at last found their way down to his butt. He squeezed one of the lower cheeks, parting them just enough to allow his other hand to delve even further down.

Naruto's breath hitched when his fingers began to tease his opening, pushing slightly at the skin until the tip of his index finger went in. He began a slow rhythm of pushing just enough to breach, then pulling away, to try to get Naruto used to the feeling of being touched there. He felt a hot drop of liquid fall onto his stomach and looked down.

_That certainly doesn't seem to be a sign of reluctance…_

Unable to keep the slow pace at seeing the evidence of how aroused Naruto was, he pulled them both higher up on the bed in one swift move. He stretched out the hand closest to the edge to get a hold of the drawer in the bedside table, and quickly found what he was looking for. Blue eyes flickered between the items in his hand and his face. The blonde swallowed heavily in anticipation, and watched as if hypnotized as his lover poured the clear lube over his fingers.

Sasuke pulled him close, trying to reassure him and distract him at the same time. He licked Naruto's lower lip, then nibbled at it hungrily, and tilted his head to deepen their kiss. With one hand he began stroking the blonde's member, while the other went further back to continue his earlier ministrations. Naruto almost bit him in surprise at the first contact.

"It's cold." He said sounding apologetically and surprised at the same time.

"Sorry," Sasuke murmured against his ear, "Just relax then it'll be fine…"

"O-okay…" Naruto's voice was weak as he hovered over Sasuke, with his eyes squeezed closed and his lips slightly parted. The finger found its rhythm again quickly, but this time it slipped in deeper each time until it was all the way inside. Naruto's back arched and he hid his face in the junction of Sasuke's neck and bit down to stop himself from making any noises.

"Does it hurt?"

A violent shake of the head was all the response he got.

"One more then."

A hurried small nod against his neck told him to go on.

Sasuke felt like he had to warn him a about what was coming, since his own first experience with this had been horrible. He had been totally ignorant about the mechanics of having sex with another man, and it had taken months before he had even wanted to try again. He wouldn't fuck up Naruto's first time, just because he wasn't much of a talker.

"It might feel strange or sting a little-"

"For God's sake Sasuke! Just put it in already, it already feels weird, but I'm not a pussy!"

Naruto was staring straight at him with angry eyes, and Sasuke took the opportunity to do exactly what he was told to. Two fingers slipped inside in one smooth move and the blonde on top of him let out a strangled noise, his eyes widening in surprise. The anger disappeared from his eyes immediately when Sasuke curled his fingers inside and pushed. Naruto grabbed his shoulders so tightly, that his nails almost broke the skin.

"_Fuuuck_…"

"I must have found your good spot, huh?" he said smugly and repeated the action.

"That wasn't fair! Aagh!"

"Didn't anybody tell you that all is fair in love and war?"

"Shut up Sasuke! Just-just keep doing that! _Yes_…"

It was no problem getting a third finger after that; actually it seemed like Naruto had no problem what so ever, with being caressed in such a way. Sure, he squirmed some trying to adjust, and he was tight, but instead of balking, he encouraged Sasuke to go on with low grunts. He drove his his partner to the brink of insanity and by moaning things such as; "_Faster!_", "_S-sasuke_" and "_Mmm yes! There!_" directly into his ear. He was acting solely on instinct, with no idea about how much it affected the man underneath him.

At last, when Sasuke knew he could do nothing more to prepare Naruto, his control snapped and he tore a condom wrapper open with his teeth. He rolled them over so that he was on top, and positioned himself between Naruto's legs. Their eyes met and Naruto locked his legs around the pale waist to close the remaining space between them. They moved together in sync and shared one last frenzied kiss, before Sasuke pushed himself inside.

It was a torturously slow process and he had to hold tightly onto Naruto, to prevent the youth from bucking up and fully joining them. Going too fast at the beginning would be painful for him and put all preparations to waste. Sasuke pushed in and out in shallow thrusts, waiting for Naruto to loosen up enough for them to go further. The only sounds that could be heard in the room were their heavy pants and the occasional whimper from Naruto when Sasuke withdrew from his body.

The thrusts got deeper and deeper, and a deep breath escaped from both of them, when Sasuke finally pushed all the way in. They were too hot, too impatient, and simply feeling too much. They shared a look and Naruto's blue eyes clearly conveyed the trust and adoration he felt for Sasuke. It was mixed with a desire and immediate need, only surpassed by the look Sasuke was giving him in return.

Sasuke pulled almost all the way out, then back in to the hilt again. He hissed at the warm tight feeling and rolled his hips to repeat the motion again, and again, steadily increasing in speed and force. He felt Naruto arch under him, trying to push up to meet every move desperately. The blonde had his fingers twisted into the sheets, his brows furrowed in an expression of utter concentration and his muscles too tense. Sasuke grabbed tanned hips with both hands and pulled Naruto further up so that his lower back no longer touched the mattress.

"Aahh! Sa-sasuke!"

"H-here?"

"y-yes, goddamnit, yes, r-right- Nnngh!"

Hitting the right spot, _just there_, made Naruto clench his muscles even tighter only to relax and open up after each thrust, allowing Sasuke even deeper access. He began pumping Naruto's member again, this time in sync with his thrust, and it was obvious that any kind of discomfort Naruto might have felt was replaced with pleasure.

Their movements became more urgent and needy, and their skin quickly became moist from the exertion. Naruto clung to him for dear life with one arm, while the other held onto the sheets with so much force that they were about to rip. Sasuke switched between kissing him roughly and licking and biting his nipples, until wild tremors shook Naruto's body and his moans turned into yells.

Naruto's whole body trembled, and Sasuke could only move a few more times before the muscles clenching down on his member also brought him to completion. His watched Naruto's trembling body underneath him as his own orgasm hit him. As their bodies went limp, they turned to lie on the side without parting.

Sasuke looked into the bright blue eyes shining with something he had no words for, as they were left in the afterglow. They lay side by side breathing heavily for a while, before either of them cared to move.

When they did, it was only for Naruto to snuggle closer to him. Neither of them said anything, they just lay there and listened to each other's breathing. Sasuke caressed Naruto's scared cheek gently, then his neck, his shoulder, and his side. At last they stopped at his hip and stroked small circles on his skin. Sasuke slowly pulled out of Naruto and felt the other wince a little as he withdrew.

"You' okay?"

"Yeah…" Naruto replied with a satisfied voice and a big yawn. "That was… really amazing. I didn't really think that it'd be so- Hmmm, so good, I guess? "

Sasuke chuckled and couldn't help the complacent smile that threatened to split his face in half. "Good to hear that I didn't let you down."

"Don't get to full of yourself; your ego is big enough as it is." Naruto said teasingly. The loving tone of his voice revealed the insult to be nothing more than their way of flirting.

"So does this mean that you might be up for it, another time?"

"Of course, you idiot! Why wouldn't I?"

"Hn, no reason." He wasn't about to tell Naruto, how he'd probably curse Sasuke to hell, come morning.

He kissed him lazily, not wanting to get up and clean up just yet. The blonde responded with slow, soft kisses and pecks to his chin, until exhaustion took over and he rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder.

The blue eyes had become heavy lidded, and he looked like he could doze off any moment now, so the brunette watched him quietly, as he fell asleep in his arms. Only few minutes passed, before Naruto's breathing had turned slow and deep.

Sasuke didn't fall asleep as easily. He lie awake for a while, watching the fall and rise of Naruto's chest and silently wondered if he had used up his luck of an entire lifetime to meet the young man, peacefully sleeping next to him.

.-.

.-.

.-.

* * *

The end

* * *

.-.

This was the end of _All that is left behind._

I know some of you out there didn't really think that "sex=happy end" was the way to go (which I agree with) and therefore I will write an epilogue. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you when it will be done, since I'm juggling with several different scenarios at the moment.

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has read this story, faved, followed or reviewed it. It really motivated me to keep on writing. Your reviews were so inspiring and funny to read :D

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, though I'm a little sad that this is the end. I have never written a story as long as this one before, and though I might write more (I have like 15 different ones just waiting to be written...) I don't think any of them will be as long, in the near future. Through this process I feel like I've learned a lot about my own writing style and how I can improve it in the future so this will definitely not be my last story ;)

.-.

(1) _strike while the iron is hot_... Seriously... When I realized this pun, Oh dear, just no. I couldn't stop staring at the screen trying to decide whether I should cringe or laugh. I don't know if this has the same meaning to you as it does to me, but in Danish saying that "he has iron on" is the equivalent of the English "he has a boner/hard on." So yeah, basically Sasuke wants to take advantage of Naruto's hot boner... (facepalm)


	17. Chapter 17 - Omake

Wow! 10.000 views O.O Thank you so much to everyone who read my story!

Arrg it was so difficult to chose a scenario for the omake! There's still at least two other scenarios that I really wanted to write, but I can't have it all... I'm sorry that it took so long to write, I've been sick for about a month and that kinda kills the will to do anything creative...

Enjoy!

* * *

Living with Naruto had become everyday life by now. He had gotten used to sharing his space, to come home for dinner every night, because he now had someone to share it with, and he had also become used to having his way with the blond, as often as either of them pleased. Which meant just about every day; one of them was still a horny teen after all, and the other had never been in love before. They were quiet the pair.

He was quite pleased with everything, no scratch that and let's be honest; he was in the seventh heaven. Having a younger lover had quite a few benefits, and he didn't mind his role as the older and more experienced bread winner in their relationship.

Naruto was still going to school, which was probably for the best, and Sasuke earned enough to provide for the both of them. He had lived a frugal lifestyle for years, so his savings alone could easily kepep them fed and with a roof over their heads.

Though he might be gay, he had always seen himself as quite masculine, and felt that he suited his role in the relationship perfectly. His earlier experiences with being submissive to anyone hadn't exactly been pleasant either, so he figured he'd never have to try that again.

Of course he underestimated the libido and curiosity of an adolescent male when it came to sex.

He learned this lesson, barely two weeks after they went all the way for the first time.

He had snuck into Naruto's room, already prepared for some less than innocent playtime, and Naruto had been more than eager to abandon his books in favor of being pleasured by Sasuke's mouth and nimble hands.

But suddenly Sasuke had found himself on all fours on Naruto's bed, with the blonde behind him. Before his mind had time to catch up with what was happening, he had taken Naruto virginity in both senses of the word.

Afterwards the blond had confidently stated that they should do it in Sasuke's bed the _next_ time; his own creaked and bumped against the wall, making so much noise that he thought it was about to fall apart halfway through. Sasuke had only been able to nod weakly, very satisfied and surprised at the turn of events.

He had never considered himself to be the bottoming kind, since he had never enjoyed it much before, but… well, let's just say that night had changed his perspective on certain things.

Other things weren't as easy or pleasant to get used to. One of those things was the increasing amount of people running in and out of his apartment. Naruto's friends had been joined by his own colleagues, who thought it would be appropriate to hold a party for him to celebrate that he was no longer single. A party _in his apartment_.

Sasuke was convinced that it was only as a means for them to get to see where he lived, and of course to meet his mysterious love interest. Naruto had had Kiba over when they suddenly burst into his home, bringing him more alcohol as gifts than he'd normally drink in a year. They had also helped him dispose of said alcohol as the evening progressed, and if Sasuke hadn't kicked them out at two in the morning, they would probably have stayed the night.

The only good thing about that day, had been Kiba's face when Ino had gone right up to him and Naruto and asked;

"So, which one of them is it?"

Disbelief and shock had quickly been replaced with pure killing intent and the savage had yelled something to Ino about being as straight as a ruler, and how he'd rather die than be involved with the Uchiha in such a way.

Sasuke had agreed with him on the later and didn't stop Kiba from trying to intimidate Ino the rest of the night.

But ever since the party, they had for some unknown reason, assumed that it was okay to stop by all the time. Kankuro came around to pick up Gaara and stayed for much longer than necessary. Neji came to discuss work and even Hinata stopped by now and then, though her visits were more tolerable than the other two's since she was quiet of nature.

An unfortunate turn of events had also been when the beast fell for the beauty; aka Kiba falling for Hinata. How that happened after just meeting once baffled Sasuke to no end. The result was that Kiba tried to figure out whenever Hinata might stop by, and stuck around at their place for way too long, waiting for her. If he hadn't been annoyed by Kiba's increasingly frequent visits he might have felt sorry for the guy.

The cherry on top was Itachi, who seemed to think that he should spend more time with Sasuke, telling him some crap about how it was more like a family, now that they were three instead of two. It took a while for Naruto to get used to his older brother, though Sasuke wasn't sure whether it was the kissing incident or the you-hit-my-boyfriend part that made Naruto somewhat uncomfortable around him.

His life had truly been turned upside down.

* * *

"Sasuke are you ready to go?" Naruto yelled from the hallway.

"I'm trying to find a pair of socks that actually match!" Sasuke hollered back. Their stuff would always get mixed up, even though Naruto technically had his own room and place to store his clothes. Especially when it came to socks.

"It doesn't matter if they match or not, it's not like anyone is gonna look at your feet."

Sasuke growled and rummaged through the drawer's content. It was true that it would have mattered when it had only been his socks, because all of them were black. At this point it looked like a fricking rainbow had thrown up in it with all those stripes, dots and cartoon figures everywhere.

"Come ooon Sasukeeee! I told Iruka we'd be there by noon!"

"Fine, I'm done anyway." He said and settled for one black and one brown sock.

They were going to visit the foster home and Naruto babbled on about it excitedly as they sat in the car. He cranked up the AC to get prevent the windows from fogging. Light snow covered the ground outside and their breaths were visible in the car. Sasuke still felt a little uncomfortable about the going back to the foster home, but he knew how much it meant to Naruto. Besides, it would take a ridiculously long time for the blonde to get there on his own, if he had to use public transport.

The ride didn't feel as long with someone by his side. When he pulled into the parking lot he felt much calmer than the last time he'd been there, though the same couldn't be said about his younger counterpart. The idiot didn't seem to be the least bit troubled by old memories. No, instead he bounced out of the car and dragged Sasuke along impatiently.

As soon as they entered the ground, several kids noticed them and one of them ran towards Naruto at full speed. It was impossible to see whom, since the kid was in full winter outfit, with a huge scarf covering half of his face.

Naruto's face split into a grin and he ran to meet the kid. Sasuke felt his own lips tugging upwards involuntarily at this display of affection. It would almost have become a real smile if not for what happened next.

"Attack!"

A snowball made a perfect line from the boy's hand to Naruto's face. The blonde stopped for a moment to splutter and wipe the snow from his face.

"Konohamaru, you little shit!" He yelled and ran even faster, as the boy did a 180 to escape. "I'm so gonna get back at you!"

Naruto caught up to the little villain in no time and tackled him to the ground. They rolled around in the snow and another kid ran over to join the fight. Sasuke sighed as he watched them. So much for a little peace and tranquility. A third kid joined in too and Naruto was quickly overpowered.

"Sasuke! Help me!" Naruto yelled in between laughter and squeals.

"Nu-uh you brought this one on yourself." He said and smirked.

"No fair! You can't just opt out!"

"What are you talking about; I was never involved to begin with." He turned his head to look at Iruka who watched them from the open doorway. The older man waved at them and smiled. Sasuke raised his own hand in greeting just before he felt a cold wet thing collide with the back of his head.

"Ha! I got you!" Naruto laughed triumphantly. "That's what you get when you don't help out your boyfriend in need!"

_Oh no, he didn't just do that._

He turned his head slowly and was met with the sight of his Naruto just about to topple over from laughing so hard. If Naruto hadn't learned not to poke the sleeping lion by now, it was his own damn fault, Sasuke thought and disregarded the fact that none of his clothes were suited for a snowball fight. He smiled menacingly and went to get his revenge.

"Boyfriend?!"Iruka yelled from the doorway. "You guys have some explaining to do!" he said and in the glimpse of an eye he was wearing boots and jacket and had a menacing parent look on his face.

_Uh-oh_

They were soaked to the bone and snow had found its way into their shoes and jackets. They had had to team up against Iruka when the foster care worker had caught his former charge and wrestled him to the ground. Luckily it seems like he had taken the news with good humor and anger was just for show, though the surprise was real.

When the fight finally died down and they went inside and Iruka loudly announced that there was warm cocoa for everyone. Most of the kids and teens ran for the door, closely followed by Naruto and Sasuke. It was chaotic as everyone tried to get the wet clothing off at the same time. The blonde purposely stepped on the tip of Sasuke's mismatching socks to make it even more difficult. He kicked Naruto in the shin as payback.

The kids lined up in the kitchen to get a cup each and one of the other foster care workers filled the cups with the steaming hot liquid. Iruka got them a cup each and they sat down next to them at a bench in the kitchen.

"Mmm, this is perfect!" Naruto hummed as he took a big gulp of the cocoa. Sasuke snorted and reached out a finger to wipe off the blonde's whipped cream moustache.

"So.." Iruka started. "How did this come to be?" he gestured between the couple and continued; "-And when did it happen?"

"Hehe you see…" Naruto smiled sheepishly. "It's a long story."

"Oh, do tell."

Sasuke listened to Naruto telling their story and zoned out when he was sure that his boyfriend didn't mention anything particularly embarrassing or stupid. He looked out the window and saw that to kids were still outside building a snowman. It was a little boy and what he assumed must have been his big sister, because of the physical resemblance.

The scene reminded him a little of Itachi and himself. They might have been a little older than the pair of siblings outside when they were orphaned, but not by much. He wondered how he would have turned out if he had been placed in a foster home such as this. It didn't seem too bad, and he might have been a little more… social… if he'd been surrounded by other kids all the time.

"Neh, earth to Sasuke, what are you daydreaming about?" Naruto asked him.

"Huh? It's nothing really."

"Hmm, you liar."

Naruto followed his line of sight out the window and smiled. "Ahh I see what this is about." He said smugly. "Your inner clock is ticking, right?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Are you insinuated that I'm feeling old, just because I'm surrounded by kids?"

"Nooo, that wasn't what I meant." The blonde put an arm around him and grinned. "Don't worry I get it. You're almost thirty so of course you'd start to think about _that._"

He looked to Iruka for help. "What is the idiot talking about?"

"I'm totally fine with it, just so you know-" Naruto continued unperturbed."I'm an adult now, and we're in a serious relationship so of course I've thought about _it_…"

His voice was getting a little too happy and Iruka looked just as confused as Sasuke felt.

"I think it would be _great_ with kids, but we've gotta get at least two though, don't you think?" Naruto mused without even glancing at his boyfriend, whose jaw had gone slack.

"Maybe we should adopt Konohamaru!" Blue eyes were suddenly focused at him, shining like he had just told Sasuke the best news in the world. "And a dog too! And then we'd move into a huge hou-"

"NO!" Sasuke said his voice a pitch too high and hand clasped over the blonde's mouth. Black eyes had gone wide in panic. He had never _ever _had those silly dreams about getting a big family with lots of kids, not to mention a dog.

_Naruto has gone insane. He can't be serious. He-he knows that I'm not the type for all these things, right? Right?! Oh god no, I don't want to disappoint him- No wait he's only 18! There's no way in hell we're letting any of those small devils into our place, not to mention when he's this young!_

The blue eyes were still shining brightly and he could feel the lips beneath his palm form a big smile. He carefully removed his hand and slowly. He mustered up as much self control as possible and slowly said:

"No. Kids." His voice was stern. "I don't know why you'd think that was a good idea-"

"Not even a dog?" Naruto asked and wilted in disappointment.

"N-no. No dog either." He responded shakily.

"Not even a little one?"

He winced. "I'm not a dog person, okay? I know you like animals but-"

"A cat then?" his boyfriend asked hopefully.

"What? Why would we get a cat?"

"A kitten?" the blue eyes staring at him were weakening his defenses.

"I don't know-"

"But you'd rather have a cat than a dog or a child?"

"Well yes." He'd rather have anything else to be honest, but he didn't say that out loud.

"So no kids, and no dog, but a cat is okay?"

"Yes, I guess we can get a cat someday if you really want to…"

"Yay!" Naruto shot up from his seat and threw his arms around Sasuke's neck. When he pulled back he was wearing the biggest shit eating grin.

"Gaara's cat got kittens yesterday and they're super cute! He said I could have two! One for me and one for you! Isn't that great?"

Sasuke eye twitched when he realized what had just happened. He could hear Iruka snickering uncontrollably next to them and gave the man a piercing look.

"_Naruto._" His voice was dark when he asked; "You didn't even want children to begin with, did you?"

"Hehe, I guess you got me there…" he scratched the back of his neck. "But look on the bright side; we're going to have kittens! You're gonna love them, I promise"

Iruka just about died laughing, as he watched Sasuke trying to strangle the hell out of Naruto.

* * *

.-.-

Ahh, Naruto the prankster. I just love it when the normally stoic Sasuke gets flustered xD

I hope you enjoyed this last chapter, I just couldn't help but write it. I personally love extra chapters and sequels to stories I like, so I figured that some of you out there might have the same opinion.

I've already begun writing another story, but I'm still playing around with how it's going to turn out, so who knows when I'll post it -_-'

So much to write, so little time...


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